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MOTIVATION
1 DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION
Generally, people differ by nature, not only in their ability to perform a specific task but also in their will to do so. People with less ability but with willpower are able to perform better than people with superior ability and lack of will. Hard work is crucial to success and achievement. Albert Einstein underscored this belief when he said, "genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Where there is a will there is a way. Willpower is, thus, the main source of motivation. Motivation is the one and only force which sets a person into motion. The word motivation is derived from motive, which is defined as an active form of a
desire, craving or need, which must be satisfied. All motives are directed towards
goals and the needs and desires affect one’s behaviour. Motivation is a process that
account for an individual’s willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach
organizational goals and to satisfy individual needs. Motivation works best when
individual needs are compatible with organizational goals.
2 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
(a) MASLOW'S MODEL
Maslow’s "needs hierarchy theory" is probably the most widely used theory of motivation in organizations. He developed his model of human motivation in 1943, based upon his own clinical experience.
Abraham Maslow suggested that people have a complex set of exceptionally strong needs and the behaviour of individuals is usually determined by their strongest need.
His theory is based upon two assumptions. First and foremost, human beings have many needs which are different in nature and which range from the biological needs at the lower level (which is the level of survival) to psychological needs at the upper extreme (which is the level of growth). Secondly, these needs occur in an order of hierarchy so that lower level needs must be satisfied first before higher level needs arise. Maslow postulates a five-staged model for motivation and needs satisfaction, namely, a) Physiological needs b) Security and Safety needs c) Love and Social needs d) Esteem needs e) Self-actualization needs
The physiological needs form the foundation of the hierarchy and tend to have the highest strength in terms of motivation. These are primarily the needs arising out of basic physiological or biological needs, namely, food, water, and shelter.
Once these basic needs are satisfied, then the other levels of needs become important and start acting as motivators.
Once the physiological needs are gratified, the safety and security needs become predominant. Love and social needs include the needs for love, friendship, affection, and social interaction. The need for esteem is to attain recognition from others and induces a feeling self- confidence in the individual. It is an urge for achievement, prestige, status and power.
Self-actualization needs help individuals to develop fully and to realize their potential. A self-actualized person is creative, independent, self-content, and has a good perception of reality.
It is to be noted that the first three sets of needs at the bottom are known as “deficiency” needs, because they must be satisfied in order to ensure the individual's very existence. The top two sets of needs are termed "growth" needs because they are concerned with personal growth, development and realization of one’s potential.
(b) McCLELLAND'S THEORY OF NEEDS
Studies conducted by Harvard psychologist David McClelland concluded that from a behavioural point of view the primary motive is the "achievement motive" and is defined as a desire to succeed in competitive situations based upon a perceived standard of excellence.
Individuals with a strong "need for achievement" (known as n Ach), ask for, accept and perform, well in challenging tasks which require creativity, ingenuity and hard work. They are constantly preoccupied with a desire for improvement and look for situations in which successful outcomes are directly correlated with their efforts so that they can claim credit for success.
The "need for power" (n Pow) is the desire is the desire to affect and control the behaviour of other people and to manipulate the surroundings. Power motivation when applied positively results in successful managers and leaders who prefer democratic style of leadership. Power motivation, applied-negatively tends to create arrogant autocratic leadership.
The "need for affiliation" (n Aff) is related to social needs and reflects a desire for friendly and warm relationships with others. Individuals tend to seek affiliation with others who have similar beliefs, backgrounds and outlook on life. This results in the formation of informal groups and informal organizations.
Theory Y assumes that workers can exercise self-direction, desire responsibility,
and like to work. Motivation is maximized by participative decision making,
interesting jobs, and good group relation
(d) VROOM'S EXPECTANCY MODEL
The expectancy model is based upon the belief that motivation is determined by the nature of the reward people expect to get as a result of their job performance. There are three important elements in Vroom’s model, namely, expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Expectancy is the likelihood that a particular outcome will result from a particular behaviour or action. Instrumentality relates to a person's expectation that his performance will lead to a desired reward. Valence is the value a person assigns to his desired reward. He may not be willing to work hard to improve performance if the reward for such improved performance is not what he desires. It is not the actual value of the reward but the perceptual value of the reward in the mind of the worker that is important. A person may be motivated to work hard not to get pay raise but to get recognition and status. Another person may be more interested in job security than status.
(e) EQUITY THEORY
Equity theory is based upon the recognition that employees are not only concerned with the rewards that they receive for their efforts but also with the relationship of their rewards with the rewards received by others. They make judgments of equity or inequity between their input and outcomes and the inputs and outcomes of others. Equity theory proposes that under-rewarded employees tend to produce less or produce products of inferior quality than equitably rewarded employees, and over- rewarded employees tend to produce more or product of higher quality than equitably rewarded employees.
(f) GOAL-SETTING THEORY
Goal setting theory is a relatively applied approach to motivation and is based upon the assumption that the type as well as the cha1lenge of the goal induces motivation in the individual to achieve such goal. The theory as proposed by Edwin Locke, studies the processes by which people set goals for themselves and then put in efforts in order to achieve them. The quality of performance is generally shaped by how difficult and how specifically defined the goal is:' General goals such as "do your best," do not lend to accurate performance appraisal and proportionate rewards. Specific goals are clear and tend to give a clear direction to the worker, resulting in improved performance. Similarly, difficult goals, once accepted, lead to higher performance.
