MOTIVATING

Productivity has always been a serious

concern of the management of firms. If it
improves, it means greater chances for the
company to grow and be more stable. One
reason why the philippine economy cannot
move steadily forward is our record of low
productivity for so many years. Higher
productivity, however, is nota result of
chance. It happens because of harder,
more efficient, and more intelligent work
made by the employees. To be willing
partners, however, the requirement is for them to be properly motivated. An
example is the management of a construction firm wanting it’s employees to
finish project on time, with the quality required at the least cost. To achieve this,
various methods of motivation may be applied.
When the cost of the other factors of production is continously affecting the
viability of the firm, the remaining factor (i.e., labor) may save the company from
financial difficulties. However, this will depend on whether or not, labor will be
motivated to perform their assigned task
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Motivating refers to the act of “giving employees
rewards or incentives, to work to achieve
organizational objectives."' Motivation, on the
other hand, refers to the process of activating
behavior, sustaining it, and directing it toward
a particular goal." This definition is useful
because it specifies three stages: activating,
sustaining, and directing actions towards the
achievement of objectives.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MOTIVATION

There are certain factors influencing a person's 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.

A MODEL OF MOTIVATION
Although a few spontaneous human
activities occur without motivation, nearly
all conscious behaviour is motivated, or
caused. Growing hair requires no motivation,
but getting a haircut does. Eventually, anyone
will fall asleep without motivation (although
parents with young children may doubt this),
but going to bed is a conscious act requiring
motivation. A manager’s job is to identify
employees drives and needs and to
channel their behavior, to motivate them,
toward task performance. Internal needs
and drives create tensions that are affected
by one’s environment. For example, the need for food produces a tension of
hunger. The hungry person then examines the surroundings to see which foods
(external incentives) are available to satisfy that hunger. Since an environment
affects one’s appetite for particular kinds of food, a South Seas native may want
roast fish, whereas a Colorado rancher may prefer grilled steak . Both persons
are ready to achieve their goals, but they will seek different foods to satisfy their
needs. This is an example of both individual differences and cultural influences in
action.
As we saw in the formulas in Chapter 1, potential performance (P) is a product of
ability (A) and motivation (M). Results occur when motivated employees are
provided within the opportunity (such as the proper training) to perform and the
resources (such as proper tools) to do so. The presence of goals and the
awareness of incentives to satisfy one’s need are also powerful motivational
factors leading to the release of effort. When an employee is productive and the
organization takes note of it, rewards will be distributed. If those rewards are
appropriate in nature, timing and distribution, the employee’s original needs and
drives are satisfied. At that time, new needs may emergeand the cycle will begin
again.
It should be apparent, therefore, that an important starting point lies in
understanding employee needs. Several traditional approaches to classifying
drives and needs are presented first; these models attempt to help managers
understand how employee’s internal needs affect their subsequent behaviors.
These historical approaches are logically followed by a discussion of a
systematic way of modifying employee behavior through the use of rewards that
satisfy those needs.

MOTIVATIONAL DRIVES
People tend to develop certain motivational
drives as a product of the cultural
environment in which they live, and these
drives affect the way people view their jobs
and approach their lives. Much of the
interest in these patterns of motivation was
generated by the research of David C.
McClealland of Harvard University. He
developed a classification scheme
highlighting three of the more dominant
drives and pointed out their significance to
motivation. His studies revealed that
people’s motivational drives reflect elements of the culture in which they grow up
their family, school, church and books. In most nations, one or two of the
motivational patterns tend to be strong among the workers because they have
grown up with similar backgrounds, McClealland’s research focused on the
drives for achievement, affiliation , and power.
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
Achievement motivation is a drive some
people have topursus and attain goals.
An individual with this drive wishes to
achieve objectives and advance up the
ladder of success, Accomplishment is
seen as important primarily for its own
sake, not just for the rewards that
accompany it. A number of characteristics
define achievement oriented employees.
They work harder when they perceive
that they will receive personal credit for
their efforts, when the risk of failure is
only moderate, and when they receive
specific feedback about their past
performance. People with a high drive for achievement take responsibility for
their actions and results, control their destiny, seek regular feedback, and enjoy
being part of a winning achievement through individual or collective effort. As
managers, they tend to expect that their employees will also be oriented toward
achievement. These high expectations sometimes make it difficult for
achievement – oriented managers to delegate effectively and for “average”
employees to satisfy their manager’s demands.

AFFILIATION MOTIVATION
Affiliation motivation is a drive to relate to
people on a social basis. Comparison of
achievement motivated employees with
affiliation motivation employees illustrate
how the two patterns influence behavior.
Achievement oriented people work harder
when their superiors provide detailed
evaluations of their work behavior. But people
affiliation motive work better when they are
complimented for their favorable attitudes and
cooperation. Achievement motivated people
select assistance who are technically capable,
with little regard for personal feelings
about them ; those who are affiliation motivated tend to select friends and likable
people to surround them. They receive inner satisfactions from being with
friends, and they want job freedom to develop those relationships.
Managers with strong needs for affiliation may have difficulty being effective
managers. Although a high concern for positive social relationships usually
results in a cooperative work environment where employees genuinely enjoy
working together, managerial overemphasis on the social dimension may
interfere with the vital process of getting things done.
Affiliation-oriented managers may have difficulty assigning challenging tasks,
directing work activities, and monitoring work effectiveness.
POWER MOTIVATION
Power motivation is a drive to
influence people, take control and
change situations. Power-motivated
people wish to create an impact on
their organizations and are willing to
take risks to do so. Once this power
is obtained, it may be used either
constructivelyor destructively.
Power-motivated people make
excellent managers if their drives
are for institutional power instead of
personal power. Institutional power is the need to influence other’s behavior for
the good of the whole organization. People with this need seek power through
legitimate means, rise to leadership positions through successful performance,
and therefore are accepted by others. However, if an employee’s drives are
toward personal power, that person tend to lose the trust and respect of
employees and colleagues and be an unsuccessful organizational leader.
Managerial Application of the Drives
Knowledge of the differences among the three motivational drives requires
managers to think contingently and to understand the work attitudes of each
employee. They can then deal with employees differently according to the
strongest motivational drive that they identify in each employee. In this way, the
supervisor communicates with each employee according to that particular
person’s needs. As one employee said, “My supervisor talks to me in my
language.” Although various tests can be used to identify the strength of
employee drives, direct observation of employees’ behavior is one of the best
methods for determining what they will respond to.
HUMAN NEEDS
When a machine malfunctions, people recognize that it needs something.
Managers try to find the causes of the breakdown n an analytical manner based
on their knowledge of the operations and needs of the machine. Like the
machine, an operator who malfunctions does so because of definite causes that
may be related to needs. For improvement to occur, the operator requires skilled
and professional care just as the machine does. If we treated (maintained)
people as well as we do expensive machines, we would have more productive,
and hence more satisfied, workers. First w must identify the needs that are
important to them.

Types of Needs
Needs may be classified in various ways. A simple classification is (1) basic
physical needs, called primary needs, and (2) social and psychological needs,
called secondary needs. The physical needs include food, water, sex, sleep, air,
and reasonably comfortable temperature. These needs arise from basic
requirements of life and are important for survival of the human race. They are,
therefore, virtually universal, but they vary in intensity from one person to
another. For example, a child needs much more sleep than an older person.
Needs also are conditioned by social practice. If it is customary to eat three
meals a day then a person tends to become hungry for three, even though two
might be adequate. If a coffee hour is introduced in the morning, then that
becomes a habit of appetite satisfaction as well as social need
Secondary needs are more vague because they represent needs of the mind
and spirit rather than of the physical body. Many of these needs are developed
as people mature. Examples are needs that pertain to self-esteem, sense of
duty, competitiveness, self-assertion and to giving, belonging, and receiving
affection. The secondary needs are those that complicate the motivational efforts
of the managers. Nearly any action that management takes will affect the
secondary needs; therefore, managerial planning should consider the effect of
any proposed action on the secondary needs of employees.
Here are seven key conclusions about secondary needs. They:
• Are strongly conditioned by experience
• Vary in type and intensity among people
• Are subject to change across time withing any individual
 • Cannot usually be isolated, but rather work in combination and influence
one another
• Are often hidded from conscious recognition
• Are vague feelings as opposed to specific physical needs
• Influence behavior in powerful ways
Whereas the three motivational drives identified earlier were not grouped in any
particular pattern, the three major theories of human needs presented in the
following sections attempt to classify those needs. At least implicitly, the theories
of Maslow, Herzberg and Alderferer build on the distinction between primary and
secondary needs. Also, there are some similarities as well as important
differences among three approaches. Despite their limitations, all three
approaches to human needs help create an important basis for the more
advanced motivational models to be discussed earlier.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
There are various theories of motivation, but only the four most influential ones
will be discussed. They consist of the following:
 1. Maslow's needs hierarchy theory
 2. Herzberg's two-factor theory
 3. Expectancy theory
 4. Goal setting theory

Maslow's 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.
Physiological Needs.
Those that are concerned with biological needs like food, drink, rest, and sex fall
under the category of physiological needs. These needs take priority over other
needs.
Security Needs.
After satisfying the physiological needs, people will seek to satisfy their safety
needs. These
needs include freedom from harm coming from the elements or from other
people, financial security which may be affected by loss of job or the breadwinner
in the family, etc.
Social Needs.
After satisfying his physiological and security needs, the employee will now strive
to secure love affection, and the need to be accepted by peers.
Esteem Needs.
The fourth level of needs is called esteem needs and they refer to the need for a
positive self image and self-respect and the need to be respected by others.
Self-Actualization Needs.
The fifth and the topmost level needs in the hierarchy are called self-actualization
needs and involve realizing our full potential as human
beings and becoming all that we are able to be.
Tile Relevance of Maslow's Theory to Engineering Management
. Even if Maslow's theory has been largely questioned, one basic premise cannot
be discarded: a fulfilled need no longer motivates an individual. If this is the
situation the subordinate is in, the engineer manager must identify an unfulfilled
need and work out a scheme.

Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory

The two-factor theory is one developed by Frederick Herzberg indicating that a
satisfied employee is motivating from within to work harder and that a dissatisfied
"employee is not self-motivated”.
Herzberg identified two classes of factors associated with employee satisfaction
and dissatisfaction. In his research, Herzberg found out that satisfied employees
mentioned the following factors (called satisfiers or motivation factors)
responsible for job satisfaction: achievement, recognition, work itself,
responsibility, advancement, and growth. Dissatisfied employees mentioned
the following factors (called dissatisfiers or hygiene factors) as responsible for job
dissatisfaction: company policy and administration, supervision, relationship with
supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationship with peers, personal life,
relationship with subordinates, status and security.
If Herzberg's theory will be considered by the engineer manager in motivating
employees, he must do
something to eliminate the dissatisfiers and install satisfiers. Even if the
dissatisfiers are eliminated (at point zero), the employee is still not motivated
work hard
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 motivation is determined
by expectancies and valences. “An expectancy is a belief about the likelihood or
probability that a particular behavioral act(like attending training sessions) will
lead to a particular outcome (like a promotion). Valence is the value an individual
places on the expected outcomes or rewards.

Expectancy theory is based on the following assumptions:

 1. A combination of forces within the individual and in the environment
determines behavior.
 2. People make decisions about their own behaviour and that of
organizations.
 3. People have different type of needs, goals, and desires.
 4. People make choices among alternative behaviors based on the extent
to which they think a certain behavior will lead to a desired outcome

THE EXPECTANCY MODEL

A widely accepted approach to motivation is the Expectancy Model, also known
as expectancy theory, that was developed by Victor H. Vroom and has been
expanded and refined by Potter and Lawyer and others. Vroom explains that
motivation is a product of three factors: How much one wants a reward (valance),
ones estimate of the probability that effort will result in successful performance
(expectancy), and one’s estimate that performance will result in receiving the
reward (instrumentality). This relationship stated in the following formula.
Valence x Expectancy x Instrumentality = Motivation

THE THREE FACTORS

Valence refers to the strength of a person’s preference for receiving a reward. It
is an expression of the amount of ones desire to reach a goal.
It is important to understand the difference between the implications of need-
based models of motivation and the idea of valence in the expectancy model. In
the need-based model broad generalization are used to predict where the group
of employee may have the strongest drives or the greatest unsatisfied needs. In
the expectancy model manager need to gather specific information about the
employee’s references among a set of awards and then continue to monitor
changes in those preferences.
Since people may have positive and negative preferences for an outcome,
valence may be negative as well as positive. When prefers not attaining an
outcome, as compared in attaining it valence is negative figure. If a person is
indifferent to an outcome the valance is zero.
Some employees will find intrinsic valence in the work itself, particularly if they
have a strong work ethic or competence motivation.
Expectancy is the strength of belief that once work related effort will result in a
completion of a task for example, a person selling magazine subscription door to
door may know from experience that volume of sales is directly to the number of
sales calls made.
One of the forces contributing to effort performance expectancies is the individual
self-efficacy. Employees with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to
believe that exerting effort will result satisfactory performance. High self-efficacy
creates a high expectancy assessment.
In contrast to high self-efficacy some employees suffer from the imposter
phenomenon. Imposters believe that they are not really as capable as they
appear to be and, consequently fear that their incompetence will be relieve to
other. They are filled with self-doubt, afraird to take risk and seldom ask for help
because they believe they lack the necessary competence, they are also likely to
doubt that any amount of their own effort will result to high performance. Imposter
therefore will predictably have low expectancy assessment for themselves. The
self-efficacy and importer concepts demonstrate the importance of understanding
broad characteristic of individual employees as a predictor of their specific
motivational drives.
Instrumentality represents the employees belief that a reward will be receive
when a task is accomplish. Here the employee make a subjective judgment
about the probability of the organization value the employees performance and
will administer reward on a contingent basis. However, if the basis for such
decision is an unclear or managerial favoritism is expected a low instrumentality
estimate would be made.
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
consists of the following components:
 1.goal content
 2. goal commitment
 3. work behaviour
 4. feedback aspects

Goal Content. To be sufficient in content, goals must be challenging, attainable,

specific and measurable, time limited, and relevant.
When goals are challenging, higher performance may be expected. The sales
quotas imposed by companies individual members of their sales force indicate
reliance of these companies to the use of challenging goals. Goals must be
attainable if they are to be set. If they are not, then workers will only be
discouraged to perform, if at all. Goals must be stated in quantitative terms
whenever possible. When exact figures to be met are set, understanding is
facilitated and workers are motivated to perform.
There must be a time-limit set for goals to be accomplished. The more relevant
the goals are to the company's mission, the more support it can generate from
various levels of employment in the organization.
Goal Commitment. When individuals or groups are committed to the goals they
are supposed to achieve, there is a chance that they will be able to achieve
them.
Work Behavior. Goals influence behavior in terms of direction, effort,
persistence, and planning. When an individual is provided with direction,
performance is facilitated. In trying to attain goals that are already indicated, the
individual is provided with a direction to exert more effort. The identification of
goals provide a reason for an individual to persist in his efforts until the goal is
attained. Once goals are set, the first important input to planning is already in
place.
Feedback Aspects. Feedback provide the individuals with a way of knowing
how far they have gone in achieving objectives. Feedback also facilitate the
introduction of corrective measures whenever they are found to be necessary.