During
the past years, many psychologists and management gurus have conducted
extensive research on various aspects of employees’ motivation and according to
Bartol and Martin (1998) the major theories of employee motivation can be
classified into three categories as follows.
- Needs theory
- Cognitive theory
- Reinforcement theory
The
most popular Needs theory is well known as Maslow’s motivation theory of
hierarchical needs which includes five basic levels of needs which should be
satisfied consecutively (Stephens, 2000). Alderfer (1972) proposed an
alternative to Maslow’s theory known as ERG theory which consolidated five
levels of Maslow’s hierarchy into three levels namely existence (E),
relatedness (R), and growth (G). Herzberg et al. developed the two factor
(motivators and hygiene factors) theory in employee motivation and Herzberg
argued that eliminating the cause of dissatisfaction (through hygiene factors)
would not result in a state of satisfaction (or motivation). But satisfaction
would occur only as a result of the use of motivators (Oscar,Ali and
Erdener,2005). In the meantime, McClelland (1985) studied three types of needs
namely achievement, affiliation and power.
As
far as the cognitive theories are concerned, one of the best known cognitive
theories can be mentioned as the expectancy theory of employee motivation by Vroom (1964) who initially
argued that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the
strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and
on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual (Robbins, 1993). Hence,
Equity theory of motivation identifies that individuals prime concerns are not
only the actual rewards they receive for their efforts, but also with the
relationship of this amount of rewards what others get. Especially, when the
employees perceive that there is a mismatch or an imbalance in their outcome
versus input compared to the others, tension is created. Equity theory revolves
around three main assumptions and firstly, it is assumed that employees build
their own beliefs about constituting a fair and equitable return for their
contributions of their jobs. Secondly, it assumes that people tend to compare
what they perceive to be the exchange they have with their employers. The other
assumption is that when employees believe that their own treatment is not
equitable relative to the exchange they perceive others to be making, they will
be taking necessary measures which they deem appropriate (Carrell and
Dittrich,1978).According to the goal-setting theory, to motivate employees,
they should be given specific, measurable, challenging, time bound and
attainable organizational goals for which there should be rewards for the goal
accomplishment (Locke and Latham,2006).
The
reinforcement theories proposed by Skinner (1938) represents the inverse of cognitive theories which
suggests that the theories do not relate with human cognitive process.
According to reinforcement theory, employees’ behavior can be explained by the
consequences in the environment and owing to that it is not necessary to look
for cognitive explanations. Instead, it is highly relied on a concept called
the law of effect, which states behaviors having pleasant or positive
consequences are more likely to be repeated and behaviors having unpleasant or
negative consequences are less likely to be repeated (Bartol and Martin, 1998).
References
Alderfer,
C. P. (1972) Existence, relatedness, and
growth: Human needs in organizational settings. New York: Free Press.
Bartol, K.M. and Martin, D.C. (1998)
Management. 3rd edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Carrell, M.R. and Dittrich, J.E.
(1978) Equity theory: the recent literature, methodological considerations and
need directions. Academy of Management
Review, Volume 3 pp 202-10.
Locke,E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2006)
New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory. Current
directions in psychological science, 15 (5) 265-268.
McClelland, D.C. (1985) Human Motivation. Glenview: Scott.
Oscar,W.D. Ali,K. and
Erdener,K.(2005)Determinants of business student satisfaction and retention in
higher education: applying Herzberg’s two-factor theory. International Journal of Educational Management, 19(2) 128-139.
Robbins, S. (1993) Organizational Behavior. 6th edition.
Englewood Cliffs:Prentice Hall.
Skinner, B. F. (1938) The behavior of organisms: an experimental
analysis. New York: Appleton-Century.
Stephens,
D.C. (2000) The Maslow Business Reader.
Abraham H. Maslow. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Vroom, V.H. (1964) Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.
McGregor, cited in Ogunna (1999, p. 287) highlighted that, people love to work if conditions of work are quite satisfactory to them and they are recognized as human beings, not machines.. The most common motivation to any workforce is that which is built on human relations philosophy of management (Olusadum and Anulika, 2018).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your valuable comments Ruwini and as you have precisely mentioned in you comment, people love to work if the working conditions are quite satisfactory and pleasant to the employees of the organization. However, Mani (2002) has concluded that working environment, co-workers and benefits also have effects on employee motivation but not as strong as good pay and recognition.
DeleteThe blog critically elaborates on employee motivation for a better out come of the organizational goals and objectives. As it is stated employee motivation is the key to engage the employee to its objectives. it is found through extrinsic motivational tools plays a key role in motivational factors that makes employees closer to high productivity (Kian and Yusoff, 2015).
ReplyDeletewhere as the blog success fully touches all aspects relevant to its title making it comprehensive an done grater justice to the title
Hi Chaminda, thanks for your precious comments and employees are the major contributing factor towards the success and the development of any organization. Further, employee motivation can be achieved through the empowerment of employees and higher level of employee motivation and satisfaction can be seen when the involvement of the employees are high. Therefore, employees should be actively engaged and the employees should be made aware that their ideas and contributions are valued and appreciated (Nguyen, 2017).
DeleteHi Dinuka , Your blog is clearly identified importance of employee motivation thus Recognition and empowerment play an essential part in enhancing employee motivation towards organizational tasks.By appreciating the employees for their work done and giving them participation in decision making, internally satisfies them with their job, organization and organizational environment. Thus their enthusiasm and motivation towards accomplishment of tasks increases (Muhammad ,2011)
ReplyDeleteHi Ajantha.I agree with your comments and other than recognition and empowerment, leadership style prevails in an organization also plays a vital role in employee motivation and employee motivation is severely affected by the leadership style. For instance, path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish designated goals set by the management of the organization and path-goal leadership theory concentrates on enhancing followers’ performance and followers’ satisfaction by focusing on the motivation of the followers (Northouse, 2016).
ReplyDeleteWell describe the importance of motivational background to exert effective workforce within the organization. Due to the current situation of the country it is influencing on employees demotivation that will directly impact on the sustainability of the organization
ReplyDeleteDewett (2007) suggests that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between certain antecedents and one’s willingness to take risks and this willingness to take risks transmits the effect of intrinsic motivation on creativity of the employees of the organization
Thanks for your comments Shantha and it could be further noted that the motivation is a very important factor for most of the aspects in an organization especially when dealing with performance and productivity. A company’s management should know how to motivate employees differently and successful application of motivators can improve job satisfaction which results in increasing the productivity of an organization (Islam and Ismail, 2008).
DeleteHi Dinuka,
ReplyDeleteYou have clearly described Employee motivation by taking the 03 classifications of motivational theories namely ,Need theory, cognitive theory and Reinforcement theory. The majority of organizations are competing to survive in this volatile and fierce market environment. Motivation and performance of the employees are essential tools for the success of any organization in the long run. On the one hand, measuring performance is critical to organization’s management, as it highlights the evolution and achievement of the organization. On the other hand, there is a positive relationship between employee motivation and organizational effectiveness, reflected in numerous studies(Dobre,2013).
From Udeni
ReplyDeleteDinuka, it has been observed that you have greatly communicate the theory knowledge of the Employee Motivation. Motivation is the desire to achieve beyond expectations, being driven by internal rather than external factors, and to be involved in a continuous striving for improvement" (Torrington, Hall, Taylor & Atkinson, 2009, p276). According to Arnold (1991).
Motivation consists of three components;
1. Direction
2. Effort
3. Persistence
Motivation theory tries to explain why people at work behave the way they do in terms of their efforts and strive for achievement.
When we apply this theory to the organization, managers can motivate their employees through methods such as bonus, extra payment, promotion, praise, and awards. Employees can also motivate themselves by seeking work where individual goals, needs, and wants will be achieved.
Hi Udeni, thanks for your encouraging remarks and an organization especially the managers need to grasp the concept of motivation accurately in order to motivate their employees effectively. Studies clearly show that people are not born to motivate. Manion (2005) states that anyone can become an effective motivator and it is simply required to understand the concepts and basic principles of motivation along with the passion to develop these skills.
DeleteHi Dinuka, Nice blog related to Employee Motivation which is one the most important area in an organization culture. Barnard (1938) observes, there are a variety of formal and informal mechanisms through which organizations may shape the beliefs and behavior of their members.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruwanga.Noted your comments with thanks. As you have stated in your comment also, employee motivation can be considered as one of the most important factors in an organization. However, employee motivation has been a fundamental problem for most of the leaders and managers. It has been found that unmotivated employees in organizations are most likely to devote little or no effort in performing their respective jobs, shun the workplace as much as possible, produce low quality work and even leave the organization if an opportunity is given. Therefore, employers are required to study and understand their employees very well and apply different tactics in order to motivate each employee based on the personal needs and wants which will ultimately ensure a high level of performance (Ganta, 2014).
ReplyDelete