motivation

Motivation describes the wants or needs that direct behavior toward a goal. It is an urge to behave or act in a way that will satisfy certain conditions such as wishes, desires or goals.

DRIVES AND MOTIVES

Motivations are commonly separated into drives and motives.

• Drives are primarily biological, like thirst, hunger, sleepiness, and the need to reproduce – all of which leads us to seek out and take part in certain activities. Drives are believed to originate within a person and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behavior.
• Motives are primarily driven by social and psychological mechanisms, such as work, family, and relationships. They include factors like praise and approval.

THREE COMPONENTS TO MOTIVATION

There are three components of motivation

• direction – what a person is trying to do
• effort – how hard a person is trying
• persistence – how long a person keeps on trying

Direction points the way, but effort establishes momentum, and persistence determines how far the change is carried. These three components are suitable to describe the level of motivation a person or team shows.

There are two types of factors that influence motivation

• Intrinsic motivation comes from a person’s internal desire to do something e.g. responsibility, freedom to act, scope to use and develop skills and abilities, interesting and challenging work, opportunities for advancement) – they have a deeper and longer-term effect.
• Extrinsic motivation is generated by external factors that are less related to the particular task e.g. rewards, promotion, punishment – they have an immediate and powerful effect, but won’t necessarily last long).

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

I. NEEDS (CONTENT) THEORIES

• All Needs theories focus on specific needs people want to satisfy. There are several theories that explain motivation as a result of these needs.
• The underlying concept is the belief that an unsatisfied need creates tension and a state of disequilibrium. To restore balance, a goal is identified that will satisfy the need and a behavior pathway to this goal is selected.
• All behavior is motivated by unsatisfied needs.
• People will be better motivated if their work experience satisfies their needs and wants.
• Needs theories distinguish between primary needs such as food, sleep and other biological needs, and secondary needs that are learned and vary by culture and individual

1.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

1. Self-actualization
2. Esteem
3. Love/Belonging
4. Safety
5. Physiological

• Physiological needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex and other bodily needs.
• Safety needs include security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
• Social needs include affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
• Esteem needs include internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement, and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
• Self-actualization needs include the drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.

An individual moves up the steps of the hierarchy. “Lower order” needs are satisfied externally i.e. physiological and safety while “higher-order” needs are satisfied internally i.e. social, esteem, and self-actualization.

• If a lower need is satisfied, it no longer motivates behavior; the next higher one becomes dominant.
• The five needs exist in a hierarchy. Higher needs only become important when lower needs are satisfied.
• Higher-order needs to provide greater motivation.
• Different people may have different priorities.

1.2 Alderfer’s ERG Theory

This theory re-categorizes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into three simpler and broader groups:

• Existence needs – need for material and energy exchange; basic physiological and safety needs.
• Relatedness needs – transactions with the human environment, the process of sharing or mutuality; the need for interpersonal relationships and attention; is about equivalent to Maslow’s social needs and part of the esteem needs.
• Growth needs – people make creative or productive efforts for themselves, the need for personal growth and self-development; part of Maslow’s esteem needs and self-fulfillment needs.

1.3 McClelland’s needs

David McClelland proposed Needs/Achievement Motivation Theory – it states that human behavior is affected by three needs:

• Need for achievement is the urge to excel, to accomplish in relation to a set of standards, to struggle to achieve success.
• Need for power is the desire to influence other individual’s behavior as per your wish.
• Need for affiliation is a need for open and sociable interpersonal relationships based on cooperation and mutual understanding.

1.4 Herzberg’s two-factor model

There are some factors that result in satisfaction and some factors that just prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction; and the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction.

• Motivators – factors that really motivate people, also called satisfiers, provide intrinsic motivation. Examples for motivators: recognition, growth, and career development opportunities, responsibility, autonomy, self-fulfillment
• Hygiene factors – also known as dissatisfiers; their absence would demotivate people, but their presence not necessarily improves motivation; essentially describe the environment, little effect on positive job attitudes. Examples for hygiene factors – salary, work conditions, relationships with superiors and peers.

 

II. PROCESS COGNITIVE THEORIES

• Emphasis on psychological processes that affect motivation and basic needs.
• Concerned with people’s perceptions and the way they interpret and understand it.
• People will be highly motivated if they can control the means to attain their goals.

2.1 Expectancy theory by Vroom

It states that the intensity of a tendency to perform in a particular manner is dependent on the intensity of an expectation that the performance will be followed by a definite outcome and on the appeal of the outcome to the individual.

2.2 Goal-setting theory by Edwin Locke

This theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance. It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better task performance. Clear, particular and difficult goals are greater motivating factor than easy, general and vague goals. Participation in goal setting is important and goals need to be agreed. As long as they are accepted, demanding goals lead to better performance than easy goals. 

2.3 Reinforcement theory by Skinner

It states that an individual's behavior is a function of its consequences. It is based on the law of effect i.e. an individual's behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but an individual's behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.

2.4 Equity theory by Adams

The basic components of equity theory are inputs, outcomes, and referents. After an internal comparison in which employees compare their outcomes to their inputs, they then make an external comparison in which they compare their O/I ratio with the O/I ratio of a referent, a person who works in a similar job or is otherwise similar. 

 

Ratio	Perception comparison
O/I a < O/I b	Under-rewarded (Equity Tension)
O/I a = O/I b	Equity
O/I a > O/I b	Over-rewarded (Equity Tension)

III. OTHER POPULAR THEORIES

Behavioral theory (Skinner): behavior is learned from experience, learning takes place mainly through reinforcement. 

Social learning theory (Bandura) states the significance of reinforcement as a determinant of future behavior, the importance of internal psychological factors, especially expectancies. 

Attribution theory (Guest) explanation of performance after we have invested considerable effort and motivation in a task; 4 types of explanations: ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck; motivation depends on the factor used to explain success or failure. 

Role Modeling: people can be motivated if they have the chance to model their own behavior on a 'role model', i.e. someone who's working or leadership style serves as an inspiration and a positive example.