Motivation

According to universal expert consensus, motivation is behavior that is driven by a goal. This implies that one is diverted towards achieving the set targets, no matter what. These maybe simple need based targets such as food, clothing and shelter. Or then goals of fame, recognition and prosperity. Or at the top of the rung the goal of self-realization. Each journey requires a driving force and this fuel for the human body is motivation. Positive Motivation: This brings about positive response to the action that one needs to undertake in order to achieve their goals. Negative Motivation: Means being reinforced with fear, anxiety and such negative feelings in order to have tasks and goals achieved.

Types of Motivation
1) Achievement Motivation It is the drive to pursue and attain goals. An individual with achievement motivation wishes to achieve objectives and advance up on the ladder of success. Here, accomplishment is important for its own shake and not for the rewards that accompany it. It is similar to Kaizen approach of Japanese Management. (2) Affiliation Motivation It is a drive to relate to people on a social basis. Persons with affiliation motivation perform work better when they are complimented for their favorable attitudes and cooperation. (3) Competence Motivation It is the drive to be good at something, allowing the individual to perform high quality work. Competence motivated people seek job mastery, take pride in developing and using their problem-solving skills and strive to be creative when confronted with obstacles. They learn from their experience. (4) Power Motivation It is the drive to influence people and change situations. Power motivated people wish to create an impact on their organization and are willing to take risks to do so. (5) Attitude Motivation Attitude motivation is how people think and feel. It is their self confidence, their belief in themselves, their attitude to life. It is how they feel about the future and how they react to the past.

Maslow's Theory of Motivation - Hierarchy of Needs

In 1943, Dr. Abraham Maslow 's article "A Theory of Human Motivation " appeared in Psychological Review, which were further expanded upon in his book: Toward a Psychology of Being In this article, Abraham H. Maslow attempted to formulate a needs-based framework of human motivation and based upon his clinical experiences with people, rather than as did the prior psychology theories of his day from authors such as Freud and B.F. Skinner, which were largely theoretical or based upon animal behavior. From this theory of motivation, modern leaders and executive managers find means of motivation for the purposes of employee and workforce management. Abraham Maslow's book Motivation and Personality (1954), formally introduced the Hierarchy of Needs.

The basis of Maslow's motivation theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs "deficiency needs." As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward selfactualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly. As a result, for adequate workplace motivation, it is important that leadership understands the active needs active for individual employee motivation. In this manner, Maslow's model indicates that fundamental, lower-order needs like safety and physiological requirements have to be satisfied in order to pursue higherlevel motivators along the lines of self-fulfillment. As depicted in the following hierarchical diagram, sometimes called 'Maslow's Needs Pyramid' or 'Maslow's Needs Triangle', after a need is satisfied it stops acting as a motivator and the next need one rank higher starts to motivate.

Self-Actualization

Esteem Needs Social Needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs

Physiological Needs
Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as: Air Water Food Sleep

According to this theory, if these fundamental needs are not satisfied then one will surely be motivated to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not recognized until one satisfies the needs basic to existence.

Safety Needs
Once physiological needs are met, one's attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by: Living in a safe area Medical insurance Job security Financial reserves

According to the Maslow hierarchy, if a person feels threatened, needs further up the pyramid will not receive attention until that need has been resolved.

Social Needs
Once a person has met the lower level physiological and safety needs, higher level motivators awaken. The first level of higher level needs are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with others and may include: Friendship Belonging to a group Giving and receiving love

Esteem Needs
After a person feels that they "belong", the urge to attain a degree of importance emerges. Esteem needs can be categorized as external motivators and internal motivators. Internally motivating esteem needs are those such as self-esteem, accomplishment, and self respect. External esteem needs are those such as reputation and recognition. Some examples of esteem needs are: Recognition (external motivator) Attention (external motivator) Social Status (external motivator) Accomplishment (internal motivator) Self-respect (internal motivator)

Maslow later improved his model to add a layer in between self-actualization and esteem needs: the need for aesthetics and knowledge.

Self-Actualization
Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow's motivation theory. It is about the quest of reaching one's full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. Self-actualized people tend to have motivators such as: Truth Justice Wisdom Meaning

Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.

Applying Maslow's Implications

Needs

Hierarchy

Business

Management

If Maslow's theory is true, there are some very important leadership implications to enhance workplace motivation. There are staff motivation opportunities by motivating each employee through their style of management, compensation plans, role definition, and company activities. Physiological Motivation: Provide ample breaks for lunch and recuperation and pay salaries that allow workers to buy life's essentials. Safety Needs: Provide a working environment which is safe, relative job security, and freedom from threats. Social Needs: Generate a feeling of acceptance, belonging, and community by reinforcing team dynamics. Esteem Motivators: Recognize achievements, assign important projects, and provide status to make employees feel valued and appreciated. Self-Actualization: Offer challenging and meaningful work assignments which enable innovation, creativity, and progress according to long-term goals.

Remember, everyone is not motivated by same needs. At various points in their lives and careers, various employees will be motivated by completely different needs. It is imperative that you recognize each employee's needs currently being pursued. In order to motivate their employees, leadership must be understand the current level of needs at which the employee finds themselves, and leverage needs for workplace motivation.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory of Motivation

Frederick Herzberg (who lived from 1923 to 2000) was a psychologist whose name has become synonymous with workplace satisfaction. He is known for his theory about job satisfaction. His theory is known as the Motivator-Hygiene theory and was published under the title "One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" This book sold more than 1 million copies and is used extensively in the top business schools in America. Herzberg knew that job satisfaction is important for both the employee and the employer. To get the most of an employee an employer should make sure they use a two pronged approach to employee satisfaction.

Introduction Frederick Herzberg is one of the most well known writers on employee motivation. He is famous for his so-called two-factor theory, otherwise known as the motivation-hygiene theory. Herzberg did most of his work in the late 1950s and early 1960s but it is still relevant today. Motivating employees is an ongoing challenge and no one has come forward with any evidence to refute Herzberg, so his ideas are still worth looking at. The reason for the two factors was Herzbergs recognition that there is one set of factors that leads to employee satisfaction at work and another that leads to dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory is a "content theory" of motivation" (the other main one is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs). Herzberg analysed the job attitudes of 200 accountants and engineers who were asked to recall when they had felt positive or negative at work and the reasons why. From this research, Herzberg suggested a two-step approach to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction:

Hygiene Factors Hygiene factors are based on the need to for a business to avoid unpleasantness at work. If these factors are considered inadequate by employees, then they can cause dissatisfaction with work. Hygiene factors include: - Company policy and administration - Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration - Quality of supervision - Quality of inter-personal relations - Working conditions - Feelings of job security

Motivator Factors Motivator factors are based on an individual's need for personal growth. When they exist, motivator factors actively create job satisfaction. If they are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and effort. Motivator factors include: - Status - Opportunity for advancement - Gaining recognition - Responsibility - Challenging / stimulating work - Sense of personal achievement & personal growth in a job There is some similarity between Herzberg's and Maslow's models. They both suggest that needs have to be satisfied for the employee to be motivated. However, Herzberg argues that only the higher levels of the Maslow Hierarchy (e.g. self-actualisation, esteem needs) act as a motivator. The remaining needs can only cause dissatisfaction if not addressed. Applying Hertzberg's model to de-motivated workers What might the evidence of de-motivated employees be in a business? - Low productivity - Poor production or service quality - Strikes / industrial disputes / breakdowns in employee communication and relationships - Complaints about pay and working conditions According to Herzberg, management should focus on rearranging work so that motivator factors can take effect. He suggested three ways in which this could be done: - Job enlargement - Job rotation - Job enrichment

Hygiene Factors and Dissatisfaction at Work

This set of factors refers mainly to working conditions. They are contextual aspects of the working environment and not intrinsic to the work itself or determined by how employees work. These factors include lighting, noise levels, room temperature and safety. But they also include wages, where pay is not based on actual performance but is hourly or monthly. Employee benefits or conditions within the workplace, including organizational culture and leadership style, are considered hygiene factors. The key point about hygiene factors is that it is their absence, particularly when they are suddenly removed, that causes dissatisfaction at work. Providing them doesnt motivate employees to work harder, except perhaps for a short period of time, after which they are taken for granted and people want new improvements. The reason that providing or improving hygiene factors fails to motivate employees is that they are not dependent on how hard employees work.

Motivation Factors and Satisfaction at Work

The distinguishing feature of motivation factors is that employees can only get them by the way they work, unlike hygiene factors are just there regardless of how hard anyone works. This set of factors includes recognition, bonuses, a sense of achievement and intrinsic enjoyment of the work itself. Being given extra responsibility and career advancement are also motivation factors in Herzbergs theory. Presumably these factors motivate employees to work harder because they can see a direct connection between their efforts and an outcome that they feel is worth striving for. Hygiene factors, say a bigger office, that are provided if an employee achieves a certain target or performance level, would then become motivation factors because getting them is a direct result of the employees efforts.

He says, that in order to motivate your employees, you need to take care of all hygiene factors first and by that, you ensure them safe work enviroment and enable them to start dreaming. Once thats done, you can start thing in about motivator factors. Things that will motivate your workers to work even better! This is what wikipedia has to say about the Two factor theory: Frederick Irving Herzberg (1923 - 2000) was a noted psychologist who became one of the most influential names in business management. Herzberg proposed the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, also known as the Two factor theory (1959) of job satisfaction. According to his theory, people are influenced by two factors:

Satisfaction, which is primarily the result of the motivator factors. These factors help increase satisfaction but have little effect on dissatisfaction.

Dissatisfaction is primarily the result of hygiene factors. These factors, if absent or inadequate, cause dissatisfaction, but their presence has little effect on longterm satisfaction Hygiene Factors

Motivator Factors

Achievement Recognition Work Itself Responsibility Promotion Growth

Pay and Benefits Company Policy and Administration Relationships with co-workers Physical Environment Supervision Status Job Security Salary

Douglas McGregor X-Y theory

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side of Enterprise'. Theory x and theory y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation, and whilst more recent studies have questioned the rigidity of the model, Mcgregor's X-Y Theory remains a valid basic principle from which to develop positive management style and techniques. McGregor's XY Theory remains central to organizational development, and to improving organizational culture. McGregor's X-Y theory is a salutary and simple reminder of the natural rules for managing people, which under the pressure of day-to-day business are all too easily forgotten. McGregor maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Many managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results. Enlightened managers use theory y, which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow and develop.

Theory x ('authoritarian management' style)

The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can. Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives. The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.

Theory y ('participative management' style)

Effort in work is as natural as work and play. People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment. Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement. People usually accept and often seek responsibility. The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.

Tools for teaching, understanding and evaluating xy theory factors

The XY Theory diagram and measurement tool below (pdf and doc versions) are adaptations of McGregor's ideas for modern organizations, management and work. They were not created by McGregor. I developed them to help understanding and application of McGregor's XY Theory concept. The test is a simple reflective tool, not a scientifically validated instrument; it's a learning aid and broad indicator. Please use it as such.

Facilitating Job Enrichment & Enlargement in Human Resources Management

Job Enrichment should be distinguished from enlargement job enlargement attempts to make a job more varied by removing the dullness associated with performing repetitive operations. In job enrichment, the attempt is to build in to jobs a higher sense of challenge and achievement. The accumulation of achievement must lead to a felling of personal growth accompanied by a sense of responsibility. The goal of job enrichment is not merely to make the more varied but I the words of M.Scoot myers research for taxes investment, which has been experimenting with the techniques is to make every employee a manager . Thus the employee job is enriched will perform the management function of manning and controlling so far as his work is concerned. How to enrich a job A job may be enriched by giving it Varity, and also may be enriched by : 1. Given worker more latitude in deciding about such things as work method, sequences and pace or by letting them make decisions about accepting or rejecting materials : 2. Giving workers a felling of personal responsibility for their tasks. 3. Taking steps to make sure that people can see how their tasks contribute to a finished products and the welfare of the enterprises. 4. Giving people feedback on their job performance preferable before their supervisors get in and 5. Involving workers in analysis and change of physical aspects of the worker environment such as lay out of office or plant, temperature, lighting and cleanliness. Thus in an enriched job the employee know the overall deadlines and the quality standard he must meet and with in that frame work plans the order in which he will take the various task and the time that should be devoted to each one. He holds himself responsible both or meeting the deadline and for producing the work of necessary quality, and he does not pass his work on for others to judge until he is satisfied that it meets the standards. Or if the work is necessarily group work, the groups plan or help to check the result. Job Enrichment in action A number of companies have introduced programs of job enrichment in all these, companies claims have been made that productivity was increased, that absenteeism and turnover reduced , and that moralo improved . A study conducted by the United States Department of Health Education and welfare Published in 1973 reports that the primary course of dissatisfaction among workers is the nature of their work. It also reported that managerial personnel react favorably after jobs are enriched. How ever after analyzing a number of studies. Fein disclosed the following: (a) University of Michigan survey research center in a large scale found that people ranked interesting work first in importance. But when managers are removed from the sample. Fein discovered that the worker ranked pay and job security higher than interesting. (b) A company which claimed great success with the experiment was taxes instruments. But here Fein found that only 10.5% workers were actively involved work. (c) Fein cautions not to be carried away by the success in toptaka of primal foods as the point has

only 63 employees who were selected carefully. And in case of AT and T benefits accrued due to simple redesigning of job. (d) Fein also expressed the view that the presumption of workers demand for job enrichment is not supported by labor leader saying that the union member have never asked them to negotiate for it . More ever these programs have been initiated by manager and not by managed. Despite Feins analysis and criticism it is difficult to believe that people do not want more meaningful work. This must be true of managers and professionals and there can be some demand from workers. Limitations But even the strongest supporters of job enrichment readily admit that three are limitations in its application They can be analyzed in the following manner. 1. Technology: There are some jobs, which are highly technical requiring skill it would be difficult to enrich such jobs. And with specialized machinery and assembly line techniques it may not be possible to make every job meaningful. 2. Cost: Thought a great many companies appear to be interested in job enrichment programs, the extra cost may seem high if a company is not convinced that the return will at least offset the increase expenditure. General Motors tried six man and three man teams in the assembly line but from that they found the work shoed and cost increased. At Saab & Volvo and motors India. It was found that increase cost is compensated by reduced absenteeism and labour turnover. Yet the cost of the programme is formidable factor. 3. Attitude of managers: Another problem is the tendency of top managers and personal specialist to apply their own scale peoples personalities. As a result a few companies have abandoned or modified their programs. M.Scott Myers belives that the failures have occurred because the manager were not really committed to theory Y and in most cases job enrichment is usually imposed on people . They are told about it rather than consulted. 4. Attitude of Workers: The attitude of some employers also represent obstacles. Various surveys of workers attitudes have shown that high percentages of workers attitude have shown that high percentages of workers are not interesting jobs. Some have complained that enriched jobs provide too many opportunities to commit mistakes. Some workers fears that the increased productivity sought may even mean loss of jobs. 5. Reaction of union Leaders: There has been little or no support of job enrichment by union Leaders. If job enrichment was so important to workers. It must have been translated in to united demand but it has never happened . Instead Leonard woodcock the President of united Automobile Worker has been quoted to have said about job enlargement that a lot academic writer are writing a lot of nonsense. How to make it Effective The limitation of job enrichment apply mainly to jobs requiring low level of skills. The job of highly skilled workers professional and manager already contain varying degrees of challenge and accomplishment. Perhaps these could be enriched considerably more than they are by applying modern management techniques . And all level particularly in non-managerial levels several approaches could be made to job make enrichment appeal to higher-level motivations. 1. The people involved must have a substantial voice in the planning process. It should not be overlooked that people like to be involved, to be involved to be consulted and to be given an opportunity to offer suggestions. They like to be considered as people. This would effectively

result in the successful functioning of the programme. 2. There is needed for better understanding of what people want. It has been pointed out by motivation researches that this varies with people and situations generally people with few skill want extrinsic factors such as pay, benefits, job security, sympathetic supervisor as then one moves up the ladder intrinsic factors do become increasingly important. 3. It should also result in worker enrichment if productivity increases are the main goal of job enrichment, the programme must show how workers would benefit. Job enrichment, in short involves redesigning of the immediate job, it also requires an enlargement of sense of respect by those who manage. In our complex personal impersonal bureaucratic organizations, this respect for the individual can be lost all too quickly. But with out this respect we can never expect to make full use of our human resources.