Motivation: -

 Concept

Motivation in management describes ways in which managers promote productivity in their

The Definition of Motivation

Often, people confuse the idea of 'happy' employees with 'motivated' employees. These may be
related, but motivation actually describes the level of desire employees feel to perform,
regardless of the level of happiness. Employees who are adequately motivated to perform will
be more productive, more engaged and feel more invested in their work. When employees feel
these things, it helps them, and thereby their managers, be more successful.
Source #1: Motivation of Growth and Achievement
It is a manager's job to motivate employees to do their jobs well. So how do managers do this?
The answer is motivation in management, the process through which managers encourage Employee: “I want to gain the skills I need to achieve [this position/task/project] shortly.”
employees to be productive and effective.
It’s easy to argue that there’s no greater motivation than personal growth and achievement —
Think of what you might experience in a retail setting when a motivated cashier is processing especially among young employees. A 2012 survey by staffing agency Adecco found that nearly
your transaction. This type of cashier will: 7 out of 10 recent college graduates called “growth and development” their top professional
priority.
 Be friendly, creating a pleasant transaction that makes you more likely to return
 Process your transaction quickly, meaning that the store can service more customers Employees are driven to achieve personal goals, take on challenges, improve skills, and
 Suggest an additional item you would like to purchase, increasing sales for the store demonstrate their ability to succeed. Individuals who feel that a task, activity, or training
program will help achieve their own personal goals are far more likely to actively participate.
In short, this employee is productive and delivers a high-quality output.
So how can your eLearning course help these employees who strive to achieve personal goals
 Sources and grow in their field?

 Set clear milestones in your training program — and show employees the progress they
are making along the way. If you want to add an element of competition to the mix
through badges or leaderboards, go for it! You may find it’s just what you need to
inspire your employees to achieve each new challenge you send their way.

 Encourage employees to set and track their professional goals. This will allow you, as
their manager, to demonstrate your investment in helping them achieve growth that is
 important to them. You could give them the opportunity to customize their learning discussion online. You could also encourage your employees to provide one another with
journey (take training at their own pace), or simply (visually) show them the connections feedback to build this desired sense of community.
between training courses and their personal goals.
When an employee succeeds in a training program, highlight it on internal memos, company
 Provide regular feedback so employees can get an honest look at whether they’re on blogs, or social media pages.
track to achieve the growth they desire.
By highlighting success cases, or by showing statistics about how large your eLearning
Source #2: Motivation of Incentive/Reward participant community is, some employees may even experience FOMO (fear of missing out).
This will motivate them to get involved as soon as possible so they can participate in this
Employee: “I’m fine with doing [action] because I know it will get me [reward].” community.

While long-term growth and achievement motivate some employees, some are more interested Source #4: Power
in short-term rewards or recognition.
Employee: “I want to feel in control of [job/learning/future] so I’m going to do [action].”
A “bonus” is a great example of an incentive that motivates employees to perform their work. If
employees are told they will earn extra money for working over 40 hours in a week, some will Whether it’s through pursuing leadership avenues or simply wanting to have control over one’s
be motivated to do it. The action is worth doing to achieve the reward. personal work environment, empowerment is a very strong form of motivation.

You can integrate incentives into eLearning programs, too. You may be able to add tangible Millennial workers, especially, want to have control over their lives. Rather than being told
rewards like bonuses, awards, certificates or extra time off from work as rewards for completing what or how to do something, they want to have choices and options to learn and succeed in
training courses or programs. the environment that are best for them.

Some employees may be motivated by rewards for the company’s growth as well. If company Setting up your eLearning courses to operate responsively — work well across a variety of
perks and overall morale are improved by achieving business goals (e.g. hitting a monthly sales desktop, tablet, and mobile devices — is a great place to start. If employees have the power to
goal), make that clear in the training programs. If something they are learning ties directly to learn on-the-go at the time that works best for them, the training shifts from being an
company success state it loud and clear; they’ll remember and be motivated to do their part to obligation to an opportunity.
get these company-wide rewards.
Let your employees learn at their own pace and in the setting; that’s best for them. You may
Source #3: Motivation of Social Belonging also want to identify those interested in pursuing a leadership track — and provide them with
unique options so they will feel empowered to learn.
Employee: “I want to feel a real part of this community, so I’m going to do [action].”
Source #5: Motivation of Fear
Many employees choose companies because of their culture and the peers they can interact
with, and learn from, on the job. Employee: “I’m happy to do [action] because I really want to avoid [bad thing] from happening.”

You may be able to succeed more with eLearning programs in this aspect than you could with Let’s be clear: it’s not advisable to threaten or scare your employees into taking an online
traditional training programs. Your programs can include many opportunities for active training course.
You can, however, tie employee performance measurements to their participation in the friendship.
training programs. By highlighting the importance of these programs (e.g. the need to learn how 4. Esteem needs- Esteem needs are of two types: internal esteem needs (self- respect,
to operate heavy machinery to avoid bodily harm), employees will get the hint: They’ll sign up confidence, competence, achievement and freedom) and external esteem needs
and get going right away. (recognition, power, status, attention and admiration).
5. Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what you are capable of
More than likely, once employees do begin taking the courses, their motivation will shift to one becoming / what you have the potential to become. It includes the need for growth and
of the other four types of motivation we’ve mentioned above. self-contentment. It also includes desire for gaining more knowledge, social- service,
creativity and being aesthetic. The self- actualization needs are never fully satiable. As
an individual grows psychologically, opportunities keep cropping up to continue
growing.
Motivation is critical in any training or workplace development program.
According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is
Employees need to find motivation — whether for achievement/growth, rewards, a sense of significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow grouped the five
belonging, out of fear, or driven by power — to perform their tasks to the best of their ability. needs into two categories - Higher-order needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and
the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These lower-order needs are mainly
The best eLearning programs will strongly consider, and respond to, these styles of motivation. satisfied externally. The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-
None of them are “good” or “bad,” but all of them can be used to create a motivated order needs. These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an
workforce. individual. Thus, we can conclude that during boom period, the employees lower-order needs
are significantly met.
You’ll know you’ve succeeded if your employees feel motivated to engage in your training
programs — and then use that knowledge to work hard to succeed in their jobs.

 Maslow hierarchy of needs theory

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943. This
theory is a classical depiction of human motivation. This theory is based on the assumption that
there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The urgency of these needs varies.
These five needs are as follows- 
Implications of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory for Managers
1. Physiological needs- These are the basic needs of air, water, food, clothing and shelter.
In other words, physiological needs are the needs for basic amenities of life. As far as the physiological needs are concerned, the managers should give employees
2. Safety needs- Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional safety and appropriate salaries to purchase the basic necessities of life. Breaks and eating
protection. For instance- Job security, financial security, protection from animals, family opportunities should be given to employees.
security, health security, etc.
3. Social needs- Social needs include the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and
 As far as the safety needs are concerned, the managers should provide the employees job Work in organizations that are managed like this can be repetitive, and people are often
motivated with a "carrot and stick" approach. Performance appraisals
security, safe and hygienic work environment, and retirement benefits so as to retain them.
and remuneration
As far as social needs are concerned, the management should encourage teamwork and
organize social events. are usually based on tangible results, such as sales figures or product output, and are used to
control staff and "keep tabs" on them.
As far as esteem needs are concerned, the managers can appreciate and reward employees This style of management assumes that workers:
on accomplishing and exceeding their targets. The management can give the deserved
employee higher job rank / position in the organization.  Dislike their work.
 Avoid responsibility and need constant direction.
 Have to be controlled, forced and threatened to deliver work.
As far as self-actualization needs are concerned, the managers can give the employees
 Need to be supervised at every step.
challenging jobs in which the employees’ skills and competencies are fully utilized.
 Have no incentive to work or ambition, and therefore need to be enticed by rewards to
Moreover, growth opportunities can be given to them so that they can reach the peak. achieve goals.

The managers must identify the need level at which the employee is existing and then those According to McGregor, organizations with a Theory X approach tend to have several tiers of
needs can be utilized as push for motivation. managers and supervisors to oversee and direct workers. Authority is rarely delegated, and
control remains firmly centralized. Managers are more authoritarian and actively intervene to
Limitations of Maslow’s Theory get things done.

 It is essential to note that not all employees are governed by same set of needs. Although Theory X management has largely fallen out of fashion in recent times, big
Different individuals may be driven by different needs at same point of time. It is always organizations may find that adopting it is unavoidable due to the sheer number of people that
the most powerful unsatisfied need that motivates an individual. they employ and the tight deadlines that they have to meet.
 The theory is not empirically supported.
 The theory is not applicable in case of starving artist as even if the artist’s basic needs  Theory Y
are not satisfied, he will still strive for recognition and achievement.
Theory Y managers have an optimistic, positive opinion of their people, and they use a
 Theory X decentralized, participative management style. This encourages a more collaborative, trust-
based
Theory X managers tend to take a pessimistic view of their people, and assume that they are
naturally unmotivated and dislike work. As a result, they think that team members need to be relationship between managers and their team members.
prompted, rewarded
People have greater responsibility, and managers encourage them to develop their skills and
or punished constantly to make sure that they complete their tasks. suggest improvements. Appraisals are regular but, unlike in Theory X organizations, they are
used to encourage open communication rather than control staff.
Theory Y organizations also give employees frequent opportunities for promotion. And the other is William Ouchi's so-called "Japanese Management" style which was explained
in his book Theory Z: How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge (1981); such
This style of management assumes that workers are: style was popularized during the Asian economic boom of the 1980s.

 Happy to work on their own initiative. For Ouchi, Theory Z focused on increasing employee loyalty to the company by providing a job
 More involved in decision making. for life with a strong focus on the well-being of the employee, both on and off the job.
 Self-motivated to complete their tasks. According to Ouchi, Theory Z management tends to promote stable employment, high
 Enjoy taking ownership productivity, and high employee morale and satisfaction.

 of their work.
 Seek and accept responsibility, and need little direction.
 View work as fulfilling and challenging.
 Solve problems creatively and imaginatively.

Theory Y has become more popular among organizations. This reflects workers' increasing
desire for more meaningful careers

 that provide them with more than just money.

 Theory Z

Theory Z is a name for various theories of human motivation built on Douglas McGregor's
Theory X and Theory Y. Theories X, Y and various versions of Z have been used in human
resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and
organizational development.

McGregor's Theory X states that workers inherently dislike and avoid work and must be driven
to it, in contrast to Theory Y which states that work is natural and can be a source of satisfaction
when aimed at higher order human psychological needs.

One Theory Z was developed by Abraham H. Maslow[1] in his paper "Theory Z"[2] which was
published in 1969 in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.[3][4][5][6]

The second one is the 3D Theory which was developed by W. J. Reddin in his book Managerial
Effectiveness (1970).