Work Motivation
Motivation
• The inner drive that directs a
person’s behavior toward goals.
• We define motivation as the
processes that account for an
individual’s intensity, direction,
and persistence of effort toward
attaining a goal.
Key elements of
motivation
• Intensity is concerned with how hard a person
tries. This is the element most of us focus on when we
talk about motivation.
• Direction is the orientation that benefits the
organization.
• Persistence is a measure of how long a person
can maintain his/her effort. Motivated individuals stay
with a task long enough to achieve their goal.
The Motivation Process
Need
More money for
unexpected medical expenses
Goal-directed behavior
Ask for a raise
Work harder to gain a promotion
Look for a higher-paying job
Steal
Need Satisfaction
More money
Early Theories of Motivation
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
• ERG Theory
• Theory X and Theory Y
• Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-
Hygiene) Theory
• McClelland’s Theory of Needs
(Three Needs Theory)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization needs
(self-development, realization)
Esteem needs
(self-esteem, recognition, status)
Social needs
(sense of belonging, love)
Safety needs
(security, protection)
Physiological needs
(hunger, thirst)
Basic assumptions
Once a need is satisfied, its role
declines
Needs are complex, with multiple
needs acting simultaneously
Lower level needs must be satiated
before higher level needs are
activated
ERG Theory
A three-level hierarchical need theory
of motivation that allows for
movement up and down the hierarchy.
• Existence Needs
• Relatedness Needs
• Growth Needs
ERG Model
• Individuals have 3 basic needs
• Existence
• Relatedness
• Growth
• Needs correspond to Maslow’s
Hierarchy
• Models differ in how needs are
ERG Theory
Existence
Relatedness Growth
All needs are operative at one time
Theory X
Management view that assumes
workers generally dislike work
and must be forced to do their
jobs.
Theory Y
Management view that assumes
workers like to work and under
proper conditions, employees will
seek responsibility to satisfy
social, esteem, and self-
actualization needs.
Two-factor theory
• Developed by Frederick Herzberg.
• Also known as motivation-hygiene
theory.
• Portrays two different factors — hygiene
factors and motivator factors — as the
primary causes of job dissatisfaction
and job satisfaction.
Hygiene factors.
• Sources of job dissatisfaction.
• Associated with the job context or work
setting.
• Improving hygiene factors prevent people
from being dissatisfied but do not
contribute to satisfaction.
Motivator factors.
• Sources of job satisfaction.
• Associated with the job content.
• Building motivator factors into the job enables
people to be satisfied.
• Absence of motivator factors in the job results
in low satisfaction, low motivation, and low
performance.
Two-Factor Theory of Job
Satisfaction
McClelland's Theory of
Needs
• Need for Achievement (nAch)
The drive to excel
• Need for Power (nPow)
The need to make others behave in a
way they would not have behaved
otherwise
• Need for Affiliation (nAff)
The desire for friendly and close
interpersonal relationships
McClelland's High Achievers
• High achievers prefer jobs with:
• Personal responsibility
• Feedback
• Intermediate degree of risk (50/50)
• High achievers are not necessarily good
managers
• High nPow and low nAff is
related to managerial success
Contemporary Theories of
Motivation
• Cognitive Evaluation Theory
• Goal-Setting Theoy
• Self-Efficacy Theory
• Expectancy theory
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
• A theory which holds that allocating extrinsic
rewards for behavior that had been previously
intrinsically rewarding tends to decrease the
overall level of motivation if the rewards are
seen as controlling.
• Extrinsic rewards will reduce intrinsic interest
in a task. When people are paid for work, it
feels less like something they want to do and
more like something they have to do.
Cont.….
• Introduction of extrinsic rewards for work
(pay) that was previously intrinsically
rewarding tends to decrease overall
motivation
• Verbal rewards increase intrinsic
motivation, while tangible rewards
undermine it
Goal-Setting Theory
• Goals increase performance when
the goals are:
• Specific
• Difficult, but accepted by
employees
• Accompanied by feedback
(especially self-generated
feedback)
Self-Efficacy Theory
An individual’s belief that he or she is
capable of performing a particular task.
The higher your self-efficacy, more
confidence you have in your ability to
succeed in a task. In difficult situations,
people with low self-efficacy are more likely
to reduce their effort or give up altogether,
while those with high self-efficacy will try
harder to master the challenge.
Expectancy Theory
Three key relationships:
1. Effort-Performance: perceived probability
that exerting effort leads to successful
performance
2. Performance-Reward: the belief that
successful performance leads to desired
outcome
3. Rewards-Personal Goals: the attractiveness
of organizational outcome (reward) to the
individual
5-25
Expectancy Theory of
Motivation
3 leading questions
1. If I give a maximum effort, will it be
recognized in my performance
appraisal? Yes/no will produce different
effect.
2. If I get a good performance appraisal,
will it lead to organizational rewards?
Yes/no will produce different effect.
3. If I am rewarded, are the rewards ones
that I find personally attractive? Yes/no
will produce different effect.
