MOTIVATION:Assumptions about Motivation, Early ViewsThree Needs

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Introduction To Public AdministrationMGT111

LESSON 32

MOTIVATION

At the end of the lectures students should be able to

- Understand the concept of motivation

- Understand what motivates employees

- Theories of motivation

In organizations as we know, material, machines and people work to achieve given goals. Machines

are used by people and unless people in organization do not use machines, equipment etc the goals cannot

be achieved.

People matter a lot in organization situation; and for management it is essential to keep them

happy, satisfied and motivated. What is motivation. In very simple terms, motivation means to `move', in a

direction. Motivation is goal directed behaviour.

Figure 1

Model of Motivation

Drive

Need

(Tensions of drivers to

(Deprivation)

fulfill a need)

Satisfaction

Action

(Reduction of the drive and

(Goal Directed

Satisfaction of the Original

Behaviour)

The above figure is a simple diagram that illustrates that motivation originates from need. When

human beings are deprived of something a need emerges. This need drives person to fulfill need. The drive

leads to action and when a person meets his/her need a person is satisfied. For example a person is thirsty.

So there is need to satisfy thirst, which drive or moves person to act i.e. reach out to water. Once a person

drinks water (goal oriented behaviour) he/she is satisfied. Then another need may emerge. This is a simple

example. Motivation can be of variety of kinds, People want to work in organization to have authority, and

people may want to serve other people. People work for money etc.

Motivation is a human psychological characteristic that contributes to a person's degree of

commitment. It includes factors that: cause, channel, and sustain human behavior in a particular committed

direction.

Motivation and motivating both deal with the range of conscious human behavior somewhere

between two extremes, which are;

Reflex actions, such as a sneeze or flutter of the eyelids; and

Learned habits, such as brushing one's teeth or handwriting style. This range of behavior is

shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Reflex

Focus of

Influenceable

Motivation

Theory

Habit

Psychologist has studied human behaviour and has tried to experiment that how people should be

motivated. They divide human behaviour in 3 broad areas i.e. (1) reflex action like heart beat, (2) habits that

are acquired and are difficult to change. There is third area of human behaviour that is influenceable and it

is this area on which psychologist worked to modify human action. Motivation is one of the aspects of

human behaviour on which psychologist have worked and found that people can be motivated to achieve

organizational goals. How that can be done we will examine it

Importance

Understanding human behaviour in general and in organizations is important because it helps in

handling variety of situations. It helps in dealing with people according to their personality. Every individual

is different and therefore, should be motivated differently. Once we know the personality and also know the

strengths and weakness it becomes easier to control the behaviour in organization. For mangers it is

important to know how to motivate people and what motivates people.

Assumptions about Motivation

There are certain assumptions about motivation and these assumptions help managers to devise

good motivation plan. These are:

Motivation is commonly assumed to be a good thing.

Motivation is one of several factors that go into a person's performance. Important, too,

are such factors as ability, resources, and conditions under which one performs. There are

number of other things required for motivation to work. For example a student who wants

`A' grade in his examination has to be a motivated student. But his motivation alone will

not work. He has to get books to read, he needs a place where he can study, food to keep

him/her nourished etc.

Managers and researchers alike assume that motivation is in short supply and in need of

periodic replenishment. Sometimes we feel motivated, other times we are not motivated.

So in that situation we need to motivate people.

Motivation is a tool with which managers can arrange job relationships in organizations.

They can tailor job assignments and rewards to what makes these people "tick." Or

motivate. Because people have different personalities and aptitude for work, the managers

should assign job according to aptitude.

Early Views

As you may recall, motivation was one of the earliest concepts which managers and researchers

studied. A classical model is often associated with Frederick Taylor and scientific management. According

to this model, the most efficient way to perform repetitive tasks was determined and workers were

motivated with a system of wage incentives i.e., output of work was linked to wage.

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Human relations model is associated with Elton Mayo and his contemporaries. Mayo and other

human relations researchers found that the boredom and repetitiveness of many tasks actually reduced

motivation, while social contacts helped create and sustain motivation. So according to them in order to

motivate people's relationship with supervisions should be good. Bosses or supervisors should encourage

subordinates to perform and give desired results.

Under the traditional model, workers had been expected to accept management's authority in

return for high wages. Under the human relations model, workers were expected to accept management's

authority because supervisors treated them with consideration and allowed them to influence the work

situation.

Human resources model is often associated with Douglas McGregor. McGregor and other theorists

criticized the human relations model as approach to manipulate employees. They also charged that, like the

traditional model, the human relations model oversimplified motivation by focusing on just one factor, such

as money or social relations.

Views on Motivation

There are other theories on motivation of which "Need Theory" is most common.

Need Theory

Hierarchy of needs, developed by Abraham Maslow, has probably received more attention from

managers than any other theory of motivation and we have examined this theory at length in previous

lectures.

ERG Theory

Another need theory is ERG theory it is an acronym for:

Existence

Relatedness

Growth

Clayton Alderfer agreed with Maslow that worker motivation could be gauged according to a

hierarchy of needs. However, his ERG theory differs from Maslow's theory in the following ways.

Alderfer broke needs down into three categories: Existence needs (Maslow's basic needs), are

basic need like food, clothing shelter relatedness needs (needs for interpersonal relations). People

want to relate themselves to other people. Since human beings are social beings they want to live

in society and belong. It is important need. The growth needs (needs for personal creativity or

productive influence) are the needs of people to grow, develop and improve. To be able to

produce better to be creative etc. Thus, like Masbw Alderfer also broke down human needs at 3

levels. The first letters of each category form the acronym ERG.

Alderfer stressed that when higher needs are frustrated, lower needs will return, even though they

were already satisfied. Maslow, in contrast, felt that a need, once met, lost its power to motivate

behavior.

Three Needs.

John W. Atkinson also proposed three basic drives in motivated persons:

Need for achievement; it is need in some persons who always want to excel. They are high

performers and are looking for perfection. Examples are sport stars etc.

Need for power and : Some individual have need for power and want authority. They may

be paid less but if the position gives power. They will prefer that. Example: People want to

join police because police yields power/authority or

Need for affiliation, or close association with others: Some people prefer to stay close to

their friends. For example somebody may get higher salary if the person is transferred to

other station but he/she may refuse the transfer because of preference to family and

friends.

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The balance between the above drives varies from person to person. David C. McClelland's

research (McCLelland was a Psychologist) has shown that a strong need for achievement-the drive to

succeed or excel-is related to how well individuals are motivated to perform their work tasks. There is

considerable evidence of the correlation between high achievement needs and high performance.

McClelland found, for example, that people who succeeded in competitive occupations were well above

average in achievement motivation.

The Need for affiliation-, in McClelland's scheme-has been a concern of managers since Elton May

and his colleagues were involved in the famous Hawthorne experiment.

The Need for power-, in McClelland's scheme-deals with the degree of control a person desires

over his or her situation. This need can be related to how people deal with failure and success.

The work by McClelland and others highlights the importance of matching the individual and the

job. Employees with high achievement needs like challenging jobs more satisfying and stimulating work.

They welcome autonomy, variety, and frequent feedback from supervisor. Employees with low achievement

needs prefer situations of stability, security and predictability.

Concepts

Motivation:

a drive that moves individual to meet need and attain satisfaction.

Goal oriented behaviour:

goal oriented behaviour is a behaviour in which a person is clear

about goals and acts to achieve those goals.

Need for affiliation:

it is the need to associate and stay close to family, friends and

social circle.

Need for achievement:

the need to excel and out perform.

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