Motivating

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

Motivation is defined as The willingness to exert high level of effort

towards organizational goals, conditioned by efforts, and ability to satisfy
some individual needs.
-Stephen P Robbins

It is condition that is initiated by a physiological or psychological

deficiency or need in an individual, which causes the individual to
behave in a certain manner in order to achieve a particular goal or
incentive.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MOTIVATION

There are certain factors influencing a persons desire to do his job well. They
are the following:
1. Willingness to do a job.
People who like what they are doing are highly motivated to produce
the expected output.
2. Self-confidence in carrying out a task.
When employees feel that they have the required skill and training to
perform a task, the more motivated they become.
3. Needs satisfaction
People will do their jobs well if they feel that by doing so, their needs
will be satisfied.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
1.
2.
3.
4.

Maslows needs hierarchy theory

Herzbergs two-factor theory
Expectancy theory
Goal setting theory

Maslows needs hierarchy theory

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, theorized that human beings have five
basic needs which are as follows: physiological, security, social, esteem, and
self-actualization. These needs are hierarchical, which means, one need will
have to be satisfied first before the other need.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

The process of motivation

NEEDS

plus

MOTIVATION

which leads to
readiness for
the next need
NEED
SATISFACTION

leads
to
ACTION OR
GOAL-DIRECTED
BEHAVIOR

which results
to
Herzbergs two-factor theory

Herzbergs classification of needs as hygiene factors and motivators.

He conducted a study to find out the job satisfaction and dissatisfaction
factors
Job satisfiers were associated with job content and job dissatisfiers were
related to job context ( circumstances/ situation)
Satisfiers were called motivators and dissatisfiers were called hygiene
factors
Hygiene Factors
Company policies
Quality of supervision

Motivational Factors
Achievement
Career advancement

Relationship with others

Personal life
Rate of pay
Job security

Personal growth
Job interest
Recognition
Responsibility

Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory is a motivation model based on the assumption that an
individual will work depending on his perception of the probability of his
expectations to happen.
The theory poses the idea that the motivation is determined by
expectancies and valences. An individual will act in a certain way based
on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and
on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.
Valence (V) denotes the strength of an individuals preference for a
particular outcome.
Valence is value or expected utility
Expectancy is the probability that performing a specific action would
produce a particular first-level outcome or effort.
Expectancy theory is based on the following assumptions:
1. A combination of forces within the individual and in the environment
determines behaviour.
2. People make decisions about their own behaviour and that of
organizations.
3. People have different types of needs, goals, and desires.
4. People make choices among alternative behaviours based on the extent
to which they think a certain behaviour will lead to a desired outcome.
Goal Setting Theory
Goal setting refers to the process of improving performance with
objectives, deadlines or quality standard. When individuals or groups are
assigned specific goals, a clear direction is provided and which later
motivates them to achieve these goals.
The goal setting model drawn by Edwin A. Locke and his associates
consist of the following components:
1. Goal content

2. Goal commitment
3. Work behaviour
4. Feedback aspects
TECHNIQUES OF MOTIVATION
Individual or groups of individuals may be motivated to perform
through the use of various techniques. These techniques may be classified
as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Motivation through job design

Motivation through rewards
Motivation through employee participation
Other motivation techniques for the diverse work face

Motivation through job design

Job design can be defined as the process of structuring tasks and
responsibilities into a job in an attempt to make the job more meaningful,
significant and satisfying.
In motivating through the use of job design, two approaches may be
used: fitting people to jobs or fitting jobs to people.
Fitting People to Jobs: Routine and repetitive tasks make workers suffer
from chronic dissatisfaction. To avoid this, the following remedies may be
adapted:
1. Realistic job previews- where management provides honest
explanations of what a job actually entails.
2. Job rotation- where people are moved periodically from one
specialized job to another.
3. Limited exposure- where a workers exposure to a highly fragmented
and tedious job is limited.
Fitting jobs to People: Instead of changing the person, management may
consider changing the job. This may be achieved with the use of the
following:
1. Job enlargement- where two or more specialized tasks in a work flow
sequence is combined into a single job.
2. Job enrichment- where efforts are made to make jobs more
interesting, challenging, and rewarding.
Motivation through rewards

Rewards consist of material and psychological benefits to employees for

performing tasks in the workplace. Properly administered reward systems can
improve job performance and satisfaction.
Rewards may be classified into two categories:
1. Extrinsic- those which refer to payoffs granted to the individual by
another party. Examples are money, employee benefits, promotions,
recognition, status symbols, praise, etc.
2. Intrinsic rewards- those which are internally experienced payoffs which
are self-granted. Examples are a sense of accomplishment, self-esteem
and self-actualization.
Motivation Through Employee Participation
When employees participate in deciding various aspects of their jobs, the
personal involvement, oftentimes, is carried up to the point where the task is
completed.
The specific activities identified where the employees may participate are
as follows:
1. Setting goals
2. Making decisions
3. Solving problems, and
4. Designing and implementing organizational changes
The more popular approaches to participation includes the following:
1. Quality control
2. Self-managed teams
Other motivation techniques
The advent of theories on individual differences and the biological clock
of human beings put pressure on the engineer manager to adapt other
motivation techniques whenever applicable. These refer to the following:
1. Flexible work schedules
2. Family support services
3. Sabbaticals

Motivating is the management action of giving employees reasons or incentives

to work to achieve organizational objectives. Motivation is the process of
activating behaviour, sustaining it, and directing it towards a particular goal.