Motivation Theory and Industrial and Organizational Psychology - Term Paper Example

IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATION THEORIES IN EXPLAINING BEHAVIOUR IN ORGANIZATIONS by IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATION THEORIES IN EXPLAINING BEHAVIOUR IN ORGANIZATIONS Introduction Motivation refers to the internal needs that satisfy the unsatisfied needs, the will to achieve it and the psychological process that gives purpose and direction. Motivational theories try to explain what stimulates the desire and energy in people to continue having interest and commitment in a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. Such theories were drawn from the experiences and practices of early leading entrepreneurs in their course to figure out what often motivates employees in an organisation. For an organisation to achieve its objectives, it should have a motivated staff. For an effective employee, management and leadership in the workplace, there is need for understanding human nature. This is what motivational theories help the management do. These theories fall under four categories i.e. need-based theories, job based theories, cognitive process theories and the behavioural approach. These theories together provide significant insight about human behaviour thus helping managers to comprehend and motivate workers thereby improving productivity. Need-based theories These theories attempt to explain work motivation in terms of the extent to which employees fulfil their needs in the workplace. One important theory that falls under this category is the Maslow hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s studies about human motivation led him to establish a theory of need based on the hierarchical chain with basic needs at the bottom and higher needs at the top (Dye, Mills & Weatherbee, 2005). His emphasis was that most people are motivated by the desire to satisfy a specific group of needs. These needs are: Physiological needs which include food, shelter, clothing, sleep, sex etc. Safety or security needs which comprise of the needed for a stable environment free from threats and social needs with regard to one’s relationship with others and status within a group. Self esteem needs which comprise of the need for self respect, self esteem and the esteem of others. Self actualisation needs which simply refer to the need for fulfilment. An organisation can meet some of these needs through simple exercises like giving employees adequate breaks for meals, adequate salaries to cater for their families, encouraging team work to achieve their social needs and giving them challenging assignments to allow them to be creative at their work. Maslow believed that human beings tend to satisfy their needs systematically starting with the basic psychological needs and then moving up the hierarchy. A person’s behaviour will be dominated by a particular group of needs until they are satisfied (Brief & Weiss, 2002). For instance, a hungry person will not think of security issues unless his need for food is fulfilled first. Maslow’s study made a considerable influence on developments in management in his era due to the simplicity of the model and the identification of higher level needs. This framework is used in many organisations for discussion about a variety of needs individuals may have and how organisations or managers can address or meet these needs. Since human beings naturally start from a very weak and low state before they nurture fully as they grow, this theory becomes relevant in their context. For example in a case where an employee is always late, the manager should first motivate their workers not to be late before reprimanding him/her. Maslow wanted to illustrate the fact that motivation is not something done to people but it comes from an individual’s inners needs ((Kanfer, 1990). They are motivated to take actions meet these needs. This theory remains valid today for understanding human motivation, management training and personal development (Kanfer, 1990). In fact, the need for managers to provide a hospitable work environment that enables employees to satisfy their own potential is today more relevant than ever. Another need based theory is the McClelland’s acquired needs theory. This states that every person prioritises needs differently. These needs include three categories: need for achievement whereby an individual has that inner desire to excel. The need for power which is the drive to influence other people’s behaviour. Need for affiliation which entails the desire to be friendly and create interpersonal relationship. Depending on a person’s drive, he will perform his duties based on that. For instance a person driven by the need for power enjoy being in charge and prefers competitive positions. Such people can be satisfied by continued promotion at their work. Managers should identify these needs and satisfy them. Job based theories They seek to explain work motivation in relation to the job itself, operation and performance. In this category, Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation hygiene theory is very significant as it helps managers understand employee satisfaction (Herzberg, 2003). In this theory, Frederick identified two types of needs; hygiene needs and human needs. The hygiene factors that motivate employees are those things that whose presence has no effect but their absence affect performance to some extent. Such factors when eliminated people become dissatisfied and act to get them back. These factors create job dissatisfaction. They include security, company policies, work conditions, salary, and interpersonal relationship among others. Such factors create job dissatisfaction when absent but their presence does not motivate workers. According to this theory, factors that create job satisfaction are very distinct from those that create satisfaction. The human need factors on the other hand are those that enrich an employee’s job. They act as great motivators to the worker and create great satisfaction. They include achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and the work itself (Locke & Henne, 1986). They give a positive impact to the job performance with the long term nature. Even though their absence does not cause any specific dissatisfaction, it leads to low motivation and poor performance in the long run. These two factors differ in the sense that, while the hygiene needs entail a person’s relationship with the environment or the context of his job, the human need factors relates the individual to what she does. The hygiene factors mainly relate with the situation in which the person is working. Therefore, managers need to identify what really satisfy and motivate employees before they apply any motivation strategy ((Locke & Henne, 1986). This is because even if the management choose to provide all hygiene factors, it will not have any effect on their satisfaction. They should focus on satisfying factors like recognition to create motivation and satisfaction. Cognitive theories Theories under this category include Expectancy theory and Goal setting theory. Expectancy theory attempts to explain why and how an individual chooses one behaviour over the other. Goal setting theory illustrates the importance of creating goals in motivating a person. Expectancy theory was put forward by Vroom who believed that human behaviour is as a result of conscious choices among alternatives with the aim of maximizing pleasure and minimising pain. He does believe that motivation results a person’s inner needs as stipulated by Maslow .According to this theory, there is a significant relationship between a person’s conduct at work and their personal goals, and their performance is influenced by personal factors such as personality, knowledge, experience and skills. The theory is based on three factors (Weiner, 1972). Valence, which refers to the value a person, puts on reinforcement or rewards. It describes the depth of the want of the employee for external rewards such as money and promotion, and internal rewards or satisfaction. This is based on an individual values, needs and goals, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. A person reacts to results in different ways, i.e. avoid the results, feel indifference or welcome them. It is therefore important that management know the value of people attach to different rewards to help them motivate the workers maximally. Instrumentality is another important factor in this theory. It means that people are rewarded based on the satisfaction of the expected results. It is what the employee perceives regarding to whether they will receive what they desire even if it has been promised by the management. The reward may be monetary or non-monetary, intrinsic or extrinsic. Factors that affect instrumentality are policies, control and trust. Instrumentality is considered to be very low if the reward i.e. the same for all the activities a person is supposed to undertake. Management have a responsibility to ensure that promises. Finally, the theory of expectancy is based expectancy. This refers to the different levels of expectations employees have and their confidence about what they are capable of doing. Their beliefs and efforts lead to specific outcomes. Therefore, the management should understand the level of expectancy of their employees in order to satisfy their needs. Goal setting theory is another type of cognitive theory (Weiner, 1972). It was put forward by Edwin Locke in 1960s.It stipulates that goal setting has an influence on individual performance. Specific and challenging goals motivate a person to carry out tasks better than easy and general goals. The theory assumes that human action is purposeful and is based on direction by conscious goals. Goal setting is as a result of dissatisfaction with the current performance (Weiner, 1972). It has a positive impact on a person’s behaviour as he changes and channels efforts towards achieving that goal hence improved performance. According to this theory, certain conditions are necessary to achieve successful goal setting. These are goal acceptance and commitment, specific goal, goal difficulty and feedback. The goals should adhere to the SMART acronym; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific. Goal setting is an important element to any successful individual and business. Managers should set goals that will all workers move the organisation towards one direction with focus on them. They should also motivate the workers to set individual goals in order to achieve their personal success (Weiner, 1972). This will greatly impact on their performance at the workplace. It also raises the incentive for workers to quickly finish their work in an effective manner. It improves feedback quality. These organisational theories enlighten the managers on how to deal with the employees in organisations so as to achieve maximum outcome. As such, Lazarus (1995) argues that they are vital in explaining the behaviour of employees in organisations or at the workplace. The integration of employee motivation in a management system is a key element to the organisational success. Motivation generally, stimulates, empowers, maintains and controls behaviour. It leads to better performance by the employees. It is also important in retaining the employees and reducing labour turnover. The organisation realises increased productivity, innovation and high quality work. Staff will contribute more to the organisation because they are satisfied with their job. Therefore, motivational theories guide the management on how to handle their workers and get the best out of them (Spreitzer, 1995). The managers are able to understand their needs and help them satisfy the desires by providing suitable conditions for that. With a motivated workforce, the organisation can easily achieve its objectives and goals (Kanfer, 1990). The main tools for motivation include trust, loyalty, respect, financial incentives, good communication and removing any barriers that may hinder good performance. There is no perfect theory or formula for employee motivation. However the management of an organization should be in a better position to determine the theory that can work for them, even if it means application of two or more theories. Conclusion Psychological motivation theories are vital in explaining behaviour in organizations. As illustrated above, it is clear that the managers should have a good understanding of the Psychological motivational theories. Knowledge of the Psychological theories in organisations makes it easier for managers to figure out why and how people behave in the organisation. Thus, management will be able to take the relevant steps and measures to modify people’s behaviours at the workplace. As a consequence, management will comprehend the different human behaviours and encourage or dissuade them to improve both the individual and the organisation performance. The fact that the main objectives of a firm are to sustain, survive and grow means that employees and staff are happy and fulfilled. This can be achieved more easily by understanding the psychological motivational theories and ensuring their effective implementation. Additionally, understanding human behaviour through the use of these theories will give the organisation a competitive advantage in the market. Moreover, it will ensure growth, sustainability, survival and revenue generation in the firm. It can therefore be concluded that managers should know the motivational theories so as to understand human behaviour and consequently maximise their organizational performance. References Brief, A. P., & Weiss, H. M. (2002). Organizational behavior: Affect in the workplace. Annual review of psychology, 53(1), 279-307. Cullen, D. (1997) Maslow, monkeys and motivation theory. Organization, 4(3): 355-373 Dye, K., Mills, A.J. and Weatherbee, T., (2005) Maslow: man interrupted: reading management theory in context. Management Decision 43(10): 1375-1395. Herzberg, F. (2003) one more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review 81(1): 87-96. Kanfer, R. (1990). Motivation theory and industrial and organizational psychology. Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, 1(2), 75-130. Lazarus, R. S. (1995). Psychological stress in the workplace. Occupational stress: A handbook, 1, 3-14. Locke, E. A., & Henne, D. (1986). Work motivation theories. International review of industrial and organizational psychology, 1, 1-35. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465. Weiner, B. (1972). Theories of motivation: From mechanism to cognition. Read More