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MOTIVATION:Extrinsic motive, Theories of work motivation, Safety needs

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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
LESSON 20
MOTIVATION
Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals,
conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual needs. The key elements can be seen in
this definition: effort, organizational goals and need. The effort element is the measure of intensity
or drive.
When someone is motivated, he or she tries hard. But high levels of effort are unlikely to lead to
favourable job performance outcomes unless the effort is channelled in a direction that benefits
the organization. Therefore, the quality of the effort must be considered as well as its intensity.
Effort that is directed towards, and is consistent with, organization's goals is the kind of effort
managers should be seeking. Finally, motivation is created as a need-satisfying process.
A need refers to some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied
need creates tension that stimulates drives within an individual. These drives generate a search
behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and reduce the tension.
It can be said that motivated employees are in a state of tension. To relieve this tension, they exert
effort. The greater the tension, the higher the effort level. If this effort leads to the satisfaction of
the need, it reduces tension. Since the focus here is on work behaviour, this tension reduction
effort must also be directed towards organizational goals. Therefore, inherent in the definition of
motivation is the requirement that the individual's needs be compatible and consistent with the
organization's goals.
Motivating high levels of employee performance is such an important consideration that academic
researchers and practicing managers have been trying to understand and explain employee
motivation for years.
Extrinsic motive
Extrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated by external factors, as opposed to the internal
drivers of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation drives people to do things for tangible rewards
or pressures, rather than for the fun of it.
Intrinsic motive
Intrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated by internal factors, as opposed to the external
drivers of extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation drives people to do things just for the fun of it,
or because they believe it is a good or right thing to do.
There is a paradox of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is far stronger a
motivator than extrinsic motivation, yet external motivation can easily act to displace intrinsic
motivation.
Primary Motives
Primary Motives are unlearned motives which may be biological or physiological motives. These
include motives such as: Hunger, thirst, sex, need for sleep etc., curiosity, manipulation, activity.
Secondary Motives
Secondary Motives are learned motives which a person is not born with for example the need for
power, the need for achievement etc.
Theories of work motivation
Maslow's Theory
The best known theory of motivation is probably Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.
Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who proposed that within every person is a hierarchy of
five needs:
Physical needs
Food, drink, shelter, sexual satisfaction and other physical requirements
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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
Safety needs
Security and protection from physical and emotional harm as well as assurance that physical needs
will continue to be met.
Need for love
Affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship.
Esteem needs
Internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement, and external esteem
factors such as status, recognition and attention.
Self-actualization
Growth, achieving one's potential and self-fulfilment; the drive to become what one is capable of
becoming.
In terms of motivation, Maslow argued that each level in the hierarchy must be substantially
satisfied before the next is activated, and that once a need is substantially satisfied, the next need
becomes dominant. In terms of the figure given below, the individual moves up the needs
hierarchy. If you want to motivate someone, according to Maslow, you need to understand what
level that person is on in the hierarchy and focus on satisfying needs at or above that level.
Managers who accepted Maslow's hierarchy attempted to change their organizations and
management practices so that employees' needs could be satisfied.
In addition, Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower levels. Physiological and safety
needs were described as lower-order and social, esteem and self-actualization needs were described
as higher-order needs. The difference between the two levels was made on the premise that higher-
order needs are satisfied internally, while lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied externally.
In fact, the natural conclusion from Maslow's classification is that, in times of economic
prosperity, almost all permanently employed workers have their lower-order needs substantially
met.
Maslow's needs theory received world wide recognition, particularly among practising managers
during the 1960s and 1970s. This recognition can be attributed to the theory's intuitive logic and
ease of understanding.
Herzberg's Two Factor Theory
Fredrick Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory proposes that intrinsic factors are related to job
satisfaction and motivation, whereas extrinsic factors are associated with job dissatisfaction.
Believing that in individual's relation to his or her work is a basic one and that his or her attitude
towards work determines success or failure, Herzberg investigated the question `What do people
want from their jobs?' He asked people for detailed descriptions of situation in which they felt
exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. Their responses were then tabulated and categorized.
Analysing the responses, Herzberg concluded that the replies people gave when they felt good
about their jobs were significantly different from the replies given when they felt bad. Certain
characteristics were consistently related to job satisfaction, and other to job dissatisfaction.
Intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition and responsibility were related to job
satisfaction. When the people questioned felt good about their work, they tend to attributed these
characteristics to themselves. On the other hand, when they were dissatisfied, they tended to cite
extrinsic factors such as company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal
relationships and working conditions.
In addition, Herzberg believed that the data suggested that the opposite of satisfaction was not
dissatisfaction, as traditionally had been believed. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job
would not necessarily make the job satisfying (or motivating). Herzberg proposed that his findings
indicated the existence of a dual continuum: the opposite of `satisfaction' is `no satisfaction', and
the opposite of `dissatisfaction' is `no dissatisfaction'.
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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
According to Herzberg, the factors that led to job satisfaction were separated and distinct from
those that led to job dissatisfaction. Therefore, mangers who sought to eliminate factors that
created job dissatisfaction could bring about workplace harmony but not necessarily motivation.
Because they do not motive employee, the extrinsic factors that create job dissatisfaction were
called hygiene factors. When these factors are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; however,
neither will they be satisfied (motivated). To motivate people in their jobs, Herzberg suggested
emphasizing on motivators, the intrinsic factors that increase job satisfaction.
Alderfer's ERG Theory
The ERG Theory of Clayton P. Alderfer is a model that appeared in 1969 in a Psychological
Review article entitled "An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Need". In a reaction to
Maslow's famous Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer distinguishes three categories of human needs that
influence worker's behaviour; existence, relatedness and growth.
These ERG Theory categories are:
Existence Needs: physiological and safety needs (such as hunger, thirst and sex) (Maslow's first
two levels)
Relatedness Needs: social and external esteem (involvement with family, friends, co-workers and
employers) (Maslow's third and fourth levels)
Growth Needs: internal esteem and self actualization (desires to be creative, productive and to
complete meaningful tasks) (Maslow's fourth and fifth levels)
Contrarily to Maslow's idea that to the higher levels of his pyramid required satisfaction in the
lower level needs, according to Alderfer the three ERG areas are not stepped in any way.
ERG Theory recognizes that the order of importance of the three Categories may vary for each
individual. Managers must recognize that an employee has multiple needs to satisfy simultaneously.
According to the ERG theory, focusing exclusively on one need at a time will not effectively
motivate.
In addition, the ERG theory acknowledges that if a higher level need remains unfulfilled, the
person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. This is know as frustration-
regression principle. This frustration-regression principle impacts workplace motivation. For
example if growth opportunities are not provided to employee's they may regress to relatedness
needs, and socialize more with co-workers.
REFERENCES
Motivation Theory: http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/theory_01.html
Fred Luthans tenth edition: Organizational behaviour McGraw-Hill/Irwin Publications 2005
NewYork
Foundations of Management: Stephen P. Robbins, Rolf Bergman, Ian Stagg, Mary Coulter
Prentice Hall Sydney Australia 2005
Employee Motivation, Richard T Froyen Prentice Hall: Sydney Australia 1999
FURTHER READING
Extrinsic Motivation: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/extrinsic_motivation.htm
Intrinsic Motivation: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/intrinsic_motivation.htm
Motivation
theories:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/academic_references.htm#petri (1991)
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHLOGY:Hawthorne Effect
  2. METHODOLOGIES OF DATA COLLECTION:Observational method, Stability of Measures
  3. GLOBALIZATION:Aspects of Globalization, Industrial Globalization
  4. DEFINING THE CULTURE:Key Components of Culture, Individualism
  5. WHAT IS DIVERSITY?:Recruitment and Retention, Organizational approaches
  6. ETHICS:Sexual Harassment, Pay and Promotion Discrimination, Employee Privacy
  7. NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS:Flat Organization, Neoclassical Organization Theory
  8. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Academy Culture, Baseball Team Culture, Fortress Culture
  9. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Move decisively, defuse resistance
  10. REWARD SYSTEMS: PAY, Methods of Pay, Individual incentive plan, New Pay Techniques
  11. REWARD SYSTEMS: RECOGNITION AND BENEFITS, Efficiency Wage Theory
  12. PERCEPTION:How They Work Together, Gestalt Laws of Grouping, Closure
  13. PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE:Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Stereotyping
  14. ATTRIBUTION:Locus of Control, Fundamental Attribution Error
  15. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT:Impression Construction, Self-focused IM
  16. PERSONALITY:Classifying Personality Theories, Humanistic/Existential
  17. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT:Standardized, Basic Categories of Measures
  18. ATTITUDE:Emotional, Informational, Behavioural,Positive and Negative Affectivity
  19. JOB SATISFACTION:The work, Pay, Measurement of Job Satisfaction
  20. MOTIVATION:Extrinsic motive, Theories of work motivation, Safety needs
  21. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION:Instrumentality, Stacy Adams’S Equity theory
  22. MOTIVATION ACROSS CULTURES:Meaning of Work, Role of Religion
  23. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:Criticisms of ‘Traditional’ Psychology, Optimism
  24. HOPE:Personality, Our goals, Satisfaction with important domains, Negative affect
  25. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:EI IS Related To Emotions and Intelligence
  26. SELF EFFICACY:Motivation, Perseverance, Thoughts, Sources of Self-Efficacy
  27. COMMUNICATION:Historical Background, Informal-Formal, Interpersonal Communication
  28. COMMUNICATION (Part II):Downward Communication, Stereotyping Problems
  29. DECISION MAKING:History, Personal Rationality, Social Model, Conceptual
  30. PARTICIPATIVE DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES:Expertise, Thinking skills
  31. JOB STRESS:Distress and Eustress, Burnout, General Adaptation Syndrome
  32. INDIVIDUAL STRESSORS:Role Ambiguity/ Role Conflict, Personal Control
  33. EFFECTS OF STRESS:Physical Effects, Behavioural Effects, Individual Strategies
  34. POWER AND POLITICS:Coercive Power, Legitimate Power, Referent Power
  35. POLITICS:Sources of Politics in Organizations, Final Word about Power
  36. GROUPS AND TEAMS:Why Groups Are Formed, Forming, Storming
  37. DYSFUNCTIONS OF GROUPS:Norm Violation, Group Think, Risky Shift
  38. JOB DESIGN:Job Rotation, Job Enlargement, Job Enrichment, Skill Variety
  39. JOB DESIGN:Engagement, Disengagement, Social Information Processing, Motivation
  40. LEARNING:Motor Learning, Verbal Learning, Behaviouristic Theories, Acquisition
  41. OBMOD:Applications of OBMOD, Correcting Group Dysfunctions
  42. LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Managers versus Leaders, Defining Leadership
  43. MODERN THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Transformational Leaders
  44. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Globalization and Leadership
  45. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Planning, Staffing