2021 BS 462 Unit 4 Motivation - 240514 - 210123
2021 BS 462 Unit 4 Motivation - 240514 - 210123
2021 BS 462 Unit 4 Motivation - 240514 - 210123
In association with
Unit 4
MOTIVATION
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Unit 4 MOTIVATION
Motivation refers to the process by which a person‟s efforts are energized, directed, and
sustained towards attaining a goal. This is a force which makes a person do something or
perform a task without being forced. The effort to improve performance at work is one of the
reasons for management in organizations. This involves a number of factors such as having the
right equipment, right workforce with the right knowledge, skills and abilities as well as right
kind of organization framework. However, even when these are all there, there would still be one
thing missing and this is; the people must be willing to do the work. For this to take place,
workers have to be motivated in one way or another in order for them to carry out the planned
tasks which will contribute to the achievement of organizational objectives. Unit 4, therefore,
will focus on the complex subject of Motivation and the various theories of what makes people
want to work. This Unit will be covered in sections as presented below;
Learning objectives
The concern for mangers wanting to get the best from the workforce has its origin from the
development of organized labour. In the early stage of organized labour, (during the Industrial
revolution), doing a job was literally a matter of life or death because failure to do the work
meant crops would not grow. At that time losing a job meant no other job and therefore,
starvation in the family. Labour forces were characterized by violent punishment and therefore,
the survival instinct can be seen to be a powerful motivator. Since then, organizations have
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become enlightened about it. During those times, the notion of the paternalistic organizations
grew up. Some owners of these organizations considered their workers as part of their families,
who were supposed to be taken care of, while owners took up the father figure.
Robert Owen, Cadbury and Rowntree companies were the pioneers of this approach who
adopted measures such as; providing employee housing, company shops, health schemes and
schooling as a way of providing services to meet some employee needs. The idea was to
recognition that, rather than just relying on the basic human needs to survive (need for a job) as a
motivational force, performance can be enhanced considerably by ensuring a healthy and happy
workforce that is positively inclined towards the organization and happy to work for it.
This notion is still being practiced by organizations today, although not in a paternalistic form.
Many organizations consider the practice of providing a range of services to meet staff needs a
good practice and in addition to housing, health schemes and general education, organizations
these days also provide staff welfare, sports and social facilities to ensure a fit and contented
workforce. However, for all this to work well, employees are also expected to comply with
conditions attached to these provisions, i.e. perform tasks accordingly.
In line with this, Jeremy Bentham came up with the view that, people are rational creatures
whose sole motivation is economic. His assumption was that, the one dimensional view of man
is based on the idea that, people are only motivated by the desire to avoid pain and find pleasure.
In work terms, it means that, workers want to find pleasure by way of financial gain. This was
his idea of the economic man; thus; a worker will only work if the reward is big enough or the
punishment for failure to work is very severe. This motivation approach is still being practiced in
organizations.
Motivation may be defined as the direction and persistence of action. It is a force which
makes people behave or do things without being forced. It is concerned with why people
choose a particular course of action in preference to others and why they continue with a chosen
action, even in the face of difficulties and problems. Motivation means a process of stimulating
people to action in order to accomplish the desired goods. It is also defined as the urge, drive,
desires, aspirations, or needs of a human being, which are internal and produces goal directed
behaviour. Motivation is one of the factors that have greatest effect on productivity and it is one
of the greatest concerns for managers.
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This is not true because motivation is an internal state that directs individuals toward
certain goals and objectives.
Managers can only create expectations on the part of an employee so that workers‟ motives will
be satisfied by doing the organization‟s work and then, provide rewards that satisfy motives of
the workers‟ needs. Those managers who do not understand that motivation is internal use it to
manipulate employees. Manipulation is an inefficient way of managing motivation because it
requires a manager to maintain control of rewards and sanctions. An effective way to manage
motivation is to understand the needs of the individual and work towards satisfying those needs.
Types of Motivation
a) Intrinsic motivation
This refers to the desire to do or achieve something because one truly wants to and
takes pleasure in doing it. It is the force which makes a person do something without
being forced to because one enjoys doing it and sees value in doing so. The
individual is moved to do something by internal desires, such as; independence,
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approval, stability, power, peers, etc. a person is not driven by people or achievement
of a goal.
b) Extrinsic motivation is the desire to do something because you are told to do so. One
is moved to do something or achieve something not for the enjoyment of the thing
itself, but because of external factors. By doing something, leads to a certain result,
such as; need to achieve a set goal, wanting to get a reward or avoiding punishment.
This type of motivation is geared towards external rewards and reinforcers such as
money, praise, promotion, awards, etc.
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It is the duty of management to establish conditions by which individuals could be fully
integrated into work roles within the organization to ensure maximum productivity in
line with the Scientific Management principles.
Key elements of the Scientific Management Theory on motivation
a) Planning; many problems of workers arise because one does not know the best
way of carrying out the job. Management should therefore, plan the work before
giving a worker so that the person is not confused about the best way to perform
the task
b) Time and motion study; Management should use scientific methods of
determining the one best way of performing tasks
c) Incentives; workers should be paid bonus in additional to incentive payments
d) Work conditions; workers should be given good working conditions to encourage
them perform to the expectations of the organization.
e) Training; management should use the scientific selection, teaching and
development of employees to matching the job to the worker by studying worker
strengths and weaknesses and provide training to improve employee performance
2 The human relations movement- Elton Mayo
The theory emphasized the need to relate work and the organizational structure to the social
needs of the employee. If the employees were happy, the organization would obtain their full
cooperation and therefore, increase their deliberate effort to increase the worker‟s happiness.
It was believed that the key to employee productivity was finding ways to increase employee
satisfaction.
Elton Mayo and other human relations researchers found that boredom and the repetitiveness of
many tasks actually reduced motivation, while social contacts helped create and sustain
motivation.
Implication for managers; The conclusion is that managers could motivate employees by
acknowledging their social needs and by making them feel useful and important. Modern day
legacies of this model include suggestion boxes, company uniforms, and employee input in the
performance evaluation process.
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There are theories which focus on needs and motivation of individuals, especially in the work.
Abraham Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs Theory presents the needs and motivation of workers
and this is provided below;
Maslow suggests an individual has a hierarchy of needs which vary in order of importance from;
the basic physiological level (hunger, thirst, shelter, sex) through various other levels,
safety and security, a desire for love and belonging,
a need for status and enhanced self-esteem,
Culminating in the highest order needs of self-actualization.
These needs are structured from the bottom upwards, forming a pyramid. According to this
Motivation Theory, the lowest level must be satisfied before the next level needs become a
motivating factor. When each level of needs is satisfied it is no longer effective as a motivator.
For example work may be initially undertaken to acquire money to feed oneself and one‟s
family. Later, money may provide some of the symbols of status. At the highest level, work is a
means of achieving maximum personal satisfaction or self-actualization fulfillment. In this way
the model is applicable to every individual in a work place according to their respective levels of
need.
Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower levels.
1 Physiological and safety needs; were considered lower-order-needs; (extrinsic needs). Needs
are satisfied externally
Effective motivation results from an accurate assessment of the needs of the individuals under
the manager‟s supervision. The overriding need for one person may be assurance and the
building of confidence; this may act to motivate him or her. For another, with great need for
esteem, the manager may motivate by highlighting outstanding performance of an employee at a
departmental meeting.
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Implication for managers
The implication for managers is that money, for some, soon loses its power as a motivator and
other incentives or goals, such as opportunity for promotion and status-enhancing benefits, meet
an individual‟s needs better. These higher order factors have a great effect on motivation. While
this concept is undoubtedly true, the uniqueness of individual human beings makes it somehow
difficult to translate the effects of this theory in a managerial and organizational way because
individual expectations differ. The outcome is to concentrate on areas of job satisfaction,
although failure to attend to job performance problems may be another problem.
This theory was proposed by David McClelland and others. It holds that; there are three acquired
needs that are major motivators in a job.
These three needs include the need for achievement (nAch), which is the drive to excel, to
achieve in relation to a set of standards, and to strive to succeed; the need for power (nPow),
which is the need to make others behave in the way that they would not have behaved otherwise;
and the need for affiliation (nAff), which is the desire for friendly and close interpersonal
relationships. Of these needs, the need for achievement received the greatest emphasis in the
research. This was because this motive was perceived as having a relatively stable tendency, and
was activated by external events in the individual‟s situation.
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McClelland found that individuals with a high need for achievement (nAch) factor tended to
display the following characteristics:
vii) They are motivated by and prefer the challenge of working at a problem and accepting
personal responsibility for success or failure.
A high need to achieve does not necessarily lead to being a good manager, especially in
large organizations.
Employees who are high achievers focus on their own accomplishments while good
managers emphasize on helping others accomplish their goals.
It is also important to know that employees can be trained to stimulate their achievement
need.
Trainers have been effective in teaching individuals to think in terms of
accomplishments, winning, and success, and then helping them to learn to act in a high
achievement way by seeking out situations in which they have personal responsibility,
feedback, and moderate risks.
The other two needs in this theory are closely related to managerial success. The best managers
tend to be high in the need for power and low in the need for affiliation.
Alderfer's ERG theory on employee motivation looks at three levels of need: namely;
Existence: the first level is that, all humans are motivated by these three needs and the most
concrete and motivating of the three needs is existence, which really relates to physical and
psychological survival.
Relatedness: The next level is the need for relatedness, a sense of community and a good
relationship with self.
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Growth: The least, but still important, of Alderfer‟s needs in the model is growth, which really
relates to self-development, fulfillment and the sense of achieving own potential.
The theory is an adaptation and simplified version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs which
suggests that all human needs can be accessed and satisfied simultaneously, rather than from the
bottom up. Alderfer suggests that, either way, as needs are satisfied, employees are motivated to
strive towards satisfying a new need.
In Maslow‟s model, individuals remain at a fixed level of need until they have satisfied it.
This would mean that individuals at work should work towards satisfying their current
stage of need, and that, leader and managers should focus on helping the members of
their teams achieve one specific level of needs at a time.
Under Alderfer‟s model, individuals can be motivated by different levels at the same
time, and have their motivational priorities change in relation to their sense of progress.
Given this, individuals should not focus on one level of need at a time. Instead, they may
wish to balance their motivations across levels.
This therefore, means that, leaders should not focus on helping the members of their team
satisfy one level of need at a time, but instead, be aware of the blend of needs that
humans can have and help their team members progress in relation to a blend of needs,
which will change over time.
Hertzberg carried out interviews with 203 accountants and engineers from different
industries. Using critical incident methods, he asked respondents to indicate when they felt
exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their jobs or previous jobs. In each case, they
were requested to give reasons for either condition. Findings of this research revealed two
different sets of factors which affect motivation and Herzberg suggests a two-factor theory of
motivation based on Maslow‟s hierarchy: The theory presents the following;
i) Hygiene factors: (or maintenance factors) these could not give satisfaction or provide
motivation when present but their absence cause dissatisfaction - these are extrinsic factors such
as salary, company policy and administration, working conditions, job security, interpersonal
relations.
ii) Motivating factors – produced satisfaction when present and capable of motivating the
individual - these are intrinsic factors such as the work itself, challenge, responsibility,
advancement and recognition which stimulate positive motivation.
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Managerial implications for Herzberg’s Motivation Theory.
In terms of delegating responsibility and enhancing status, the nature of job work acts as
an effective motivator, than factors such as job security and salary. Therefore, managers
must provide adequate levels of hygiene factors to prevent dissatisfaction, but pay more
attention to job enhancement which works better as motivators.
Managers should therefore, provide new challenges, giving respect for expertise,
providing good communication and performance feedback. These factors will be
significant motivators and more effective determinants of performance
Managers should include salary as a hygiene factor rather than as a motivator, although
this was subject to criticism from sales managers whose experience led them to believe
that commission paid to their salespeople was a powerful motivator in practice.
According to Herzberg, increased salary through commission was a motivator through
automatic increase in salary for sales achievement
A model is something used as an example to follow or imitate. Models of behavior are designed
to help us understand behaviour and be able to identify the underlying factors that influence it.
An understanding of both aspects is needed to develop effective intervention strategies.
Presented below are some of the models of behavior;
The theory proposes two sets of assumptions about human nature: Theory X and Theory Y.
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Theory X is the negative view of people that, a human being is naturally lazy. The person
dislikes work and wants to avoid responsibility, need to be closely controlled in order to work
effectively. Theory Y is a positive view that a human being is good; there is something good in
man. That, by nature man is capable of exercising self-control and can do something if handled
properly. McGregor believed that Theory Y assumptions best captured the true nature of workers
and should guide management practice. McGregor assumed that, theory X was for people
dominated by the lower-order-needs of Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs while Theory Y assumed
that higher-order-needs dominated individuals. McGregor therefore, proposed that participation
in decision-making, responsible and challenging jobs, as well as good group relations would
maximize employee motivation.
The Theory Z was invented by the American economist and management professor William
Ouchi, following the X and Y theory by Douglas McGregor in the 1960s. The theory Z was
introduced in the 1980s by William Ouchi as the Japanese consensus style. He argued that
western organisations could learn from their Japanese counterparts. In 1981 William Ouchi, of
Japanese heritage, wrote his book „Theory Z: How American Business can meet the Japanese
Challenge.„ According to Ouchi, the theory Z promotes stable employment, high productivity
and high morality and employee satisfaction. The loyalty of employees is increased by offering
them a job for life with a strong focus on employee well-being both on the job as well as in their
private lives.
Theory Z Assumptions
The theory Z revolves around the assumption that employees want to enter into partnerships with
their employer and colleagues. Employees have a strong desire for connection. This requires a
high level of support from the manager and the organization in the form of a safe working
environment and the right facilities. The possibility for development and training can also be
included on this list. Another assumption is that employees expect reciprocity and support from
their organization. Employees find a work-life balance important and want to maintain this.
Family, culture and traditions are therefore just as important as working conditions. The theory Z
also assumes that employees trust that they can carry out their work properly with the right
support from management.
Schein was an American academic who published a classification of assumptions about people
and motivation. Edgar, a former colleague of McGregor‟s made some 4 contributions to describe
employee behavior in relation to motivation based on Maslow‟s classification of needs.
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The Rational-Economic Man- Model
This is a model of the economic man. His assumption was that, man is primarily
motivated by economic incentives and will do what gets him the greatest economic gain.
He assumed that, man acts out of compliance with economic incentives of coercion.
This view is based on Maslow‟s theory of human needs. It sees self-fulfillment needs as
the main driving force behind individuals. The view corresponds closely to Theory Y in
that; people are seen to be satisfying their highest level needs through work. Management
in organizations should therefore, not just be seen to be considerate and helpful to
employees, but also to supply challenge in their jobs as well as create opportunity that
can take care of their ego and self-fulfillment needs. The managerial strategy should be
one that provides challenging work, delegation, responsibility and autonomy of work.
While this view is true for managers and professional staff, it is less clear for lower grade
employees. Man‟s feelings are essentially irrational (inconsiderate, lack logical judgment,
etc..) and must be prevented from interfering with this rational calculation of self-
interest.
This view sees human beings as complex and variable. It holds that, people's motives
vary depending on tasks, work groups or organizational climate. Managers must therefore
be able to also adapt and vary their own behaviour in accordance with the motivational
needs of particular individuals and teams. Schein sees motivation in terms of
psychological contract based on the expectations that employers and employees have of
each other. This also results into the relationship between an individual and teams. This
means that, people are capable of being motivated in different ways, at different
environments and at different times. They may therefore, respond differently to different
management styles. Therefore, the relationship between an individual and his
organization is an interactive one.
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Edgar explains that, in order to understand the human factor in organizations, it is important that
assumptions made about people, especially in the superior-subordinate relationship are
understood.
These are theories of motivation that try to explain why behaviors are initiated. They focus on
the mechanism by which we choose a target, (what we want to achieve) and the effort that we
put in, in order to “hit” that target, (Laurie J Mullins 2005).
According to the reinforcement theory, Skinner considers that behavior is shaped by controlling
the consequences of that particular behavior. A consequence is something that happens as a
result of behaving in a particular way and these consequences can either be positive or negative.
Positive outcome (consequence), reinforces or induce behaviour that makes it more likely for the
behavior to happen again. Examples of positive consequences may include positive attention,
praise and rewards for good behaviour. Reinforcement theory focuses on the relationship
between operant behavior and its consequences. In essence, reinforcement theory states that
behavior that results in a positive outcome will usually be repeated, while behavior with a
negative outcome will not. Operant conditioning is a theory of learning behavior which focuses
on the role of reinforcement in conditioning. Operant conditioning means repeatedly giving a
reward for acting in a certain way. It explains the effect that rewards and punishments for
specific behaviors can have on a person's future actions.
Adams developed his equity theory of motivation. According to the Equity Theory, employees
make comparison of their job inputs and outcomes relative to those of others. The theory
proposes that employees perceive what they get from a job situation (outcomes) in relation to
what they put in (inputs) and then compare their inputs-outcomes ratio with the inputs-outcomes
ratios of relevant others. If the ratios are perceived as equal then a state of equity (fairness)
exists. If the ratios are perceived as unequal, inequity exists and the person feels under- or over-
rewarded. When inequities occur, employees will attempt to do something to rebalance the ratios
(seek justice).
Equity theory points out the importance of the equitable distribution of rewards and
compensation. People will make comparisons and be satisfied or dissatisfied based on how they
feel they are being treated relative to others.
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Manager’s Implication
The theory therefore, suggests that, managers should:
Recognize that employees make comparisons and therefore, what each employee receives
should be directly related to what the person accomplishes. This means that, managers
should be able to explain and justify differences in rewards based on differences in
accomplishments.
Always be aware of what others in the industry or field are receiving for similar work
done comparable to what their own employees are doing.
Manager’s implication
The Goal setting Theory provides that,
Managers need to know that the Goal-setting theory is one of the most
influential theories of motivation.
In order to motivate employees, management should set goals that are SMART
(specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound).
The organization should tie individual goals to organizational goals using
management by objectives.
According to Yale business professor Victor Vroom, motivation is the result of conscious
choices we make that will either maximize pleasure or minimize pain. Vroom theorized that even
though the goals of individuals may differ, they can be motivated to act together toward a
common goal if certain circumstances are put in place. Basically, Vroom‟s expectancy theory
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assumes that people‟s motivation to exert effort is dependent upon their expectations for success.
Vroom based his theory on three concepts, namely;
1. Expectancy. This refers to a person‟s perceived relationship between effort and
performance, i.e. the extent to which a person believes that exerting a given amount of
effort will lead to a certain level of performance.
3. Valence. This represents the value placed upon a particular reward by a person. For
some individuals promotion may be highly valued; for others it may have little value.
Valence considers both the goals and needs of the individual.
Clearly, different people will have different valences (values) for the same reward. Some might
value increased pay very highly; while for others higher pay may have less value. At the same
time, different people may view the relationship between performance and reward, and between
effort and performance, in quite different ways.
Manager’s implication
The Expectancy theory suggests that,
Goals seem to have a more substantial effect on performance and the two are
interdependent
Managers should be aware that, there must be a positive correlation between an
employee's efforts and his performance,
A positive performance must be rewarded in a way that will satisfy an important need.
For the employee, the desire to satisfy a need is so strong that it makes the effort
worthwhile
What will drive performance is the employee expectation that the need will be satisfied
upon successful completion of a task
The deserving employees must be rewarded for their exceptional performance.
A task of the manager is to specify and communicate to the workers the performance
criteria, to help workers achieve company objectives,
Managers need to relate rewards to performance criteria
Further, this theory supports the notion that for performance targets to be effective
motivators, they should be regarded as attainable (high expectancy) by each person;
otherwise the first link in the expectancy model will be severed.
Finally, this model provides a framework for analyzing motivational problems with
individual workers and an explanation of why certain managerial activities can improve
motivation.
Training in various skills, for example, can improve motivation by raising expectancy
levels.
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Section 6 Implication of Motivation Theory
According to the above discussion on motivation, managers should know that, there seem
not to be one strategy that will work for all people at all times.
The development of the Process theories of motivation takes us away from the more
general needs theory which applies equally for every person because the process theories
take a more individualistic approach to motivation.
Managers need to relate to their workers as individuals if they want to raise motivation
Although the needs based theories are considered to be rigid when applied to the
individual, they provide a basis for the organization to use some general approaches to be
supportive of employee aspirations at work
Management has to take care of the reward systems (pay, conditions of service,
development, security, fairness, working environment) which are available to employees
The job itself – how meaningful and interesting the work actually is
Although management has placed a lot of importance on the reward system of an
organization for employee motivation, it is worth noting that, individuals have their other
more serious reasons for choosing the type of job they do as well as the organization they
work for
Even if one was to win a lottery and stop work, to some extent, the person would still
miss the security the job position offers. A lot of people seek and value the physical and
mental stimulation and the social interactions which working provides
People go to work to earn a living and want to maximize their financial gain, therefore,
merely putting a reward system is not enough
It is also true that, people need a level of security that employment brings, often at the
cost of lower wages ( half a loaf is better than nothing)
Therefore, having the right reward system is significant, but is not likely to inspire
workers to increase effectiveness and efficiency in itself.
Considering Herzberg‟s two Factor theory of „Hygiene‟ and „Motivators‟ it should be
clear to managers that, more can be done to motivate workers by developing the job
itself.
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Unit summary
This Unit addressed the Development of Thinking on Motivation as well as the concept of
motivation and the types of motivation. Motivation was needs were also discussed. Herzberg's
two factor Motivation Theory was discussed in detail as well as Models of Motivation. The
Process theories of motivation were equally covered. The implications of Motivation Theory to
managers are well discussed so that management is aware of how to motivate workers if
organizational objectives have to be well achieved.
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