2.What are Motivation theories

                                                      What are Motivation theories?

Theories of Motivation

According to veterans of human resources Management, Theories of motivation are often separated into content theories and process theories. In short, content theories explain what motivation is, and process theories describe how motivation occurs.

We can describe that, there are also a large number of cognitive theories that relate to motivation and explain how our way of thinking and perceiving ourselves and the world around us can influence our motives. From self-concept, dissonance and mindset to values, orientation and perceived control, these theories explain how our preference toward certain mental constructs can increase or impair our ability to take goal-directed action.

Motivation theories are also grouped by the field of human endeavor. they apply to. Several theories relate to motivating employees where incentives and needs take a central stage as well as theories used in sports and performance psychology where affect is considered a more prominent driver of human behavior. Some of these theories are also applied to education and learning.

Motivation theory is a way of looking at the motivation of a person and how this influences their behavior, whether for personal or professional reasons. It's important to every aspect of society but is especially relevant to business and management. Motivation is the key to more profitable employees, as a motivated employee is more productive.

 

What are the Theories of Motivation? 

Motivation is a huge field of study. Psychologists have proposed many different theories of motivation. Some of the most famous motivational theories include the following: 

Some of the most important theories of motivation are as follows:

 1. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

2. Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory

3. McClelland’s Need Theory

4. McGregor’s Participation Theory

5. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

 

1. Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchical Needs 

Abraham Maslow postulated that a person will be motivated when all his needs are fulfilled. People do not work for security or money, but they work to contribute and to use their skills. He demonstrated this by creating a pyramid to show how people are motivated and mentioned that ONE CANNOT ASCEND TO THE NEXT LEVEL UNLESS LOWER-LEVEL NEEDS ARE FULFILLED. The lowest level needs in the pyramid are basic needs and unless these lower-level needs are satisfied people do not look at working toward satisfying the upper-level needs

Below is the hierarchy of needs: 

• Physiological needs: are basic needs for survival such as air, sleep, food, water, clothing, sex, and shelter. 
• Safety needs: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers (e.g., health, secure employment, and property) 

• Below is the hierarchy of needs: 

  • Physiological needs: are basic needs for survival such as air, sleep, food, water, clothing, sex, and shelter. 
  • Safety needs: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers (e.g., health, secure employment, and property) 
  • Social (belongingness and love) needs: The need for association, affiliation, friendship, and so on. 
  • Self-esteem needs:  The need for respect and recognition. 
  • Self-actualization needs:  The opportunity for personal development, learning, and fun/creative/challenging work.  Self-actualization is the highest-level need to which a human being can aspire. 

  2. Hertzberg’s two-factor Theory 

  Hertzberg classified the needs into two broad categories; namely hygiene factors and motivating factors: 

  • poor hygiene factors may destroy motivation but improving them under most circumstances will not improve team motivation 
  • hygiene factors only are not sufficient to motivate people, but motivator factors are also required  

   

   

  3. McClelland’s Theory of Needs 

  McClelland affirms that we all have three motivating drivers, which do not depend on our gender or age. One of these drives will be dominant in our behaviour. The dominant drive depends on our life experiences.  

   

   

  The three motivators are: 

  • Achievement: a need to accomplish and demonstrate own competence. People with a high need for achievement prefer tasks that provide for personal responsibility and results based on their own efforts.  They also prefer quick acknowledgment of their progress. 
  • Affiliation: a need for love, belonging and social acceptance. People with a high need for affiliation are motivated by being liked and accepted by others.  They tend to participate in social gatherings and may be uncomfortable with conflict. 
  • Power: a need for controlling own work or the work of others. People with a high need for power desire situations in which they exercise power and influence over others.  They aspire for positions with status and authority and tend to be more concerned about their level of influence than about effective work performance. 

  4. Vroom’s Theory of Expectancy 

  Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation says that an individual’s motivation is affected by their expectations about the future. In his view, an individual’s motivation is affected by – 

  • Expectancy: Here the belief is that increased effort will lead to increased performance i.e., if I work harder then it will be better. This is affected by things such as: 
  • Having the appropriate resources available (e.g., raw materials, time) 
  • Having the appropriate management skills to do the job 
  • Having the required support to get the job done (e.g., supervisor support, or correct information on the job) 
  • Instrumentality: Here the belief is that if you perform well, then the outcome will be a valuable one for me. i.e., if I do a good job, there is something in it for me. This is affected by things such as: 
  • A clear understanding of the relationship between performance and outcomes – e.g., the rules of the reward ‘game’ 
  • Trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what outcome 
  • Transparency in the process decides who gets what outcome 
  • Valence: is how much importance the individual places upon the expected outcome. For example, if someone is motivated by money, he or she might not value offers of additional time off. 

  Motivation = V * I * E 

  5. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y 

  Theory X and Theory Y were first explained by McGregor in his book, "The Human Side of Enterprise," and they refer to two styles of management – authoritarian (Theory X) and participative (Theory Y). 

  Theory X: Managers who accept this theory believe that if you feel that your team members dislike their work, have little motivation, need to be watched every minute, and are incapable of being accountable for their work, avoid responsibility and avoid work whenever possible, then you are likely to use an authoritarian style of management. According to McGregor, this approach is very "hands-on" and usually involves micromanaging people's work to ensure that it gets done properly.  

  Theory Y: Managers who accept this theory believe that if people are willing to work without supervision, take pride in their work, see it as a challenge, and want to achieve more, they can direct their own efforts, take ownership of their work and do it effectively by themselves. These managers use a decentralized, participative management style.   

  Conclusion

  Motivation is the state of mind which pushes all human beings to perform to their highest potential, with good spirits and a positive attitude. The various motivation theories outlined above help us to understand what are the factors that drive motivation. It is a leader’s job to ensure that every individual in the team and the organization is motivated, and inspired to perform better than their best. This is neither quick nor easy, but in the long-term, the gains that are derived from happy employees far outweigh the time and effort spent in motivating them! 

   

   

   

  References

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  https://www.managementstudyguide.com/maslows.

  Accessed at November 24,2022