Module Name : Human Resource Management Module Code : MGM 309 Module Tutor : Md.

Sajjad Hosain Week : 12 Lecture No. : 10 Lecture Topic : Motivation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human Needs Needs are psychological or physiological deficiencies that arouse/energize human behavior. These needs can be either strong or weak and are influenced by the environmental factors. Therefore, human needs differ over time and place. Behavioral scientists and researchers have identified different types of needs of human as the most intelligent of all creatures. Maslow, Alderfer, Herzberg, Adams and Vroom are some of them who had contributed a lot on finding the nature of human needs. Among them, Maslows defining work was the development of the hierarchy of needs. He was the first who identified and categorized human needs into five broad sets that must be satisfied to get a desired outcome. The needs are displayed hereFigure-1 ( Maslows hierarchy of needs)

Psychological growth

Self Actualization Esteem or Ego Social Safety or Security Physiological

Higher order needs

Deficiency needs

(Reproduced from Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 1954)

Physiological, basic or primary needs: Food, shelter, rest, clothing or warmth, sex etc. that are connected to a persons body. Safety or security needs: Needs to be safe and secured with life and properties. Social needs: Love, friendship and supportive relationship with others. Esteem or egoistic needs: Esteem or egoistic needs are concerned with a persons view or conception of self. Satisfaction of such needs tends to enhance a persons ego or personality. Self-actualization needs: Self-recognition, respect, self-expression and self-actualization. self-significance, self-

It is important to note that the importance of the needs are not the same everywhere. They are different in different socio-economic context. The higher order needs are usually important for the employees working in the top-level positions and for the advanced developed countries, while deficiency needs are the key motivators for the underdeveloped countries and also for the employees at the lower positions. Motivation Defined The term motivation derived from the Latin word movere, meaning to move. Motivation represents those psychological process that cause the arousal, direction, and presence of voluntary actions that are goal oriented. A need in this context is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individual. These drives then generate a search behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of tension. The influence is that motivated employees are in a state of tension and to relieve this tension, they exert effort. Therefore, motivation must be goal oriented that will cause a kind of tension on the persons mind in to order to make him do something voluntarily. It is not like forcing him/her to do a job that he/she do not like to do. Thats why an employee needs to be motivated. The greater the tension, the higher the effort level as illustrated in figure 2. Figure-2 ( The motivational process ) Unsatisfied need Tension Drives Search behaviour

Reduction of tension

Satisfied need

( Adapted from Robbins, 1993:206 Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies and Applications)

Although, motivational theorists differ on where the energy is derived and on the particular needs that a person is attempting to fulfill, most would agree that motivation requires a desire to act, an ability to act, and having an objective. Motivation as a driver at workplace Human mind can be changed through learning, experience motivation. Motivational factors can be of different forms

and like

comparatively higher pay, an equitable payment system, real opportunities for promotion, considerable and participative management, recognition of performance and proper feedback, a reasonable degree of social
interaction at work, interesting and varied tasks and a high degree of control over work pace and environment.

It has been proved in many recent studies in both developed and developing countries that employees are highly motivated by various schemes show higher performance in their jobs, though the perception and the ways to motivate people are a bit different in the underdeveloped countries from the western style. However, the degree of satisfaction obtained by individuals depends largely upon their own needs and expectations and the environment in which they work. But research has not established any strongly positive relationship between satisfaction and performance. A satisfied worker may necessarily a high performer, and a high producer is not also necessarily a satisfied one. Some people claim that good performance procures satisfaction rather than the other way round, but their argument has not yet been proved.