Employees Motivation

UHS 2062 LECTURES at UTM Skudai.Prepared by Siti Rokiah Siwok, August 2009

srsiwok@gmail.com

Motivation and WorkIO psychologists generally define work

motivation as the internal force that drives a worker to action , as well as the external factors that encourage the actions (Locke & Latham, 2002 in Aamodt, 2007).

Ability and skill determine the employee can do the job.

Motivation determines whether the employee will do the job properly.

Generally psychologist agree that increased employee motivation results in increased job performance.

Theory X and Theory YIn his 1960 book, The Human Side of

Enterprise, Douglas McGregor proposed two theories by which to view employee motivation.

He avoided descriptive labels and simply called the theories Theory X and Theory Y.

Theory XPeople cannot be trusted, they are irrational ,

unreliable and inherently lazy.Therefore people need to be controlled and

motivated using financial incentives, threats and punishment.

In the absence of such controls, people will pursue their own goals , which will be in conflict with those of their work organisation.

Theory YPeople seek independence, self-development

and creativity in their work. People can see further than their immediate

circumstances and are able to adapt to new ones.

They are moral and responsible beings, who, if treated as such, will strive for good of their organisation.

Needs, values and wantsWork motivation and job satisfaction are also

determined by the discrepancy between what we want, value and expect, and what actually the job provides.

Three theories focus on employees’ needs and values: Maslow’s needs hierarchy, ERG theory and two-factor theory.

Needs TheoriesNeed theories are based on the idea that

there are psychological needs, that lie behind human behaviour.

When our needs are unmet we experience tension or disequilibrium which we try to put right; which means we behave in ways that satisfy our needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsHierarchical , meaning that the lower-level

needs have to be satisfied before one is concerned with the next level (like the staircase).

Each level is taken a step at a time and thus the higher level need cannot be reached until the lower- level need is satisfied

Humanistic perspectiveThe humanistic perspective emphasis free will , the

ability to make choices and come to decisions in their lives (Feldman, 2006).

Carl Rogers, a major proponent of the humanistic perspective, suggests that all people have a need for positive regard, results from the underlying need to be loved and respect.

Maslow suggest s that self actualization is the primary goal in life.

Self actualization is a state of self fulfillment in which people achieve their highest potential in their own unique way (Feldman, 2006).

Evaluation of Maslow’s Theory“Maslow’ theory is popular and stood the test

of time, but not very much supported by research.

The biggest “problem” with regards to the levels. …need there be five? Or two or three enough?

There are people who skip levels .What about overlapping of levels?

ERG TheoryTo address the limitation of Maslow’s Theory,

, Clayton Alderfer proposed the ERG theory, which like Maslow's theory, describes needs as a hierarchy.

The letters ERG stand for three levels of needs: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth.

The ERG theory is based on the work of Maslow, so it has much in common with it but also differs in some important aspects.

Other research supports the number of levels as proposed by Alderfer.

ERG TheoryAccording to this theory, people can skip

levels.ERG theory also explains why a higher-level

need sometimes do not become more important once a lower-level need has been satisfied. There are other factors.

Overlapping of levels has been addressed by reducing the number of levels to three

Two-factor theoryTwo-factor theory was proposed by Herzberg

(1966), in which job related factors are divided into two categories: hygiene factors and motivators.

Hygiene factors are those job-related elements that related from, but not involving the job itself. Examples :pay and benefits making friends (These are results of the work, but do not involve

the work itself)

Two-factor theoryMotivators are the job elements that concern

the actual task and duties.

For employees to have motivation and satisfaction, both hygiene factors and motivators must be present.

This theory make sense but has not receive research support.

The theory is being criticised because of the methods to develop the two factors

Two-factor theoryHygiene factors Motivators

PaySecurity Co workersWorking conditionsCompany policyWork scheduleSupervisors

ResponsibilitiesGrowthChallengeStimulationIndependenceVarietycontrol

Comparison of TheoriesMaslow ERG Herzberg

Self -actualization Growth MotivatorsSelf-esteem

Belonging and love (social)

Relatedness Hygiene factors

Safety ExistencePhysiological needs

References:Aamodt, M.G (2007). Industrial /organizational

psychology. An applied approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson

Arnold, J ( 2005). Work Psychology. Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (4th ed). England : Pearson Education Ltd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivationhttp://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_pro

ducts_wp.pl?fidhttp://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/

mcgregor/Feldman, R. S. (2006) Development across the

lifespan. (4th ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education.