Needs Theories Essay Example

Needs Theories Essay 1. INTRODUCTION Motivation is an important element in organizational learning due to its ability to enable employees to function effectively. There are several theories of motivation which can be useful to managers in motivating employees of organizations. You may ask yourself what motivation is. Well, motivation is that drive you have within you to get something done, what drives you to work as much as you do, for example, a student will want an A in a test, he will be motivated to study hard and achieve that A. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. Motivation stems from psychological factors within the person, but can also be induced by factors in the workplace. In human resource management it is essential to know how workers inputs via their task inputs and inputs via superiors can be conductive to worker effectiveness. Motivation is a process that involves the purposiveness of behaviour. Factors that have been shown by research include external and internal activators. In this assignment we will outline important motivation theories and how they are used in the workplace. Motivation theories seek to 2. MASLOWS HIERACHY OF NEEDS Peoples’ needs are arranged according to its importance of human survival. Human needs may be placed in a hierarchy where the lowest level contains the most basic needs, which must be satisfied before the higher order needs emerge and become motivators of behaviour. The needs of the hierarchy are as follows, psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, ego/esteem needs and self-actualization needs. We will write a custom essay sample on Needs Theories specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Needs Theories specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Needs Theories specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Psychological needs: These are the basic needs for a human which are essential for a human beings biological functioning and survival. Examples would be food, water and warmth. Employees who are adequately paid can provide for these needs. Safety needs: As soon as the psychological needs are satisfied, another level of needs emerge and the importance of the previous level of needs disappear. In this level a person looks for security, stability and a safe environment. Many employees’ most important need is job security; other security factors include increases in salary and benefits. Social needs: Once a person feels secure in their surroundings and are in control of possible threats, social needs are activated. These include the need for love, acceptance, friendship and a sense of belonging. At this level, employees desire social relationships inside and outside the organization. Peer group acceptance within the workplace is often an important psychological need for employees. Ego/esteem needs: These needs may be divided into two groups namely, self- respect and self-esteem, the respect and approval of others. Once employees form friendships the need for self-esteem becomes priority. Needs, such as self-confidence, independence, recognition, appreciation and achievement all fall under this level. Organizational factors such as job title, status items within the organization, such as parking spaces or office size and level of responsibility become important to the employee. Self- actualization: If all the above mentioned needs are largely satisfied, people than spend their time searching for opportunities to apply their skills to the best of their ability. Maslow describes the needs as the desire to become more and more what one is and to become everything one is capable of becoming. Self-actualization is the uninhibited expression of your true self and your talents. Employees seek challenging and creative jobs to achieve self-actualization. This theory has many implications for individual performance, the most common strategy being motivating people in terms of service benefits and job security. The work people do and the way the work environment is designed, increases interaction between employees which helps satisfy social needs. However, disadvantages pertaining to this may result in excessive socialization and may have a negative effect on the employees work output (NEL P. S et al,2004). If a person’s work is directly associated with need satisfaction, then that person becomes self-regulating, making the roles of external incentives become less significant as motivators. As one level of need is met, a person moves onto the next level of need as a source of motivation. Hence, people progress up the hierachy as they successively gratify each level if need(Nelson Q, 2011) (http://upload. ikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs. png) 3. HERTZBURGS TWO FACTOR THEORY Herzbergs Two Factor Theory is a content theory of motivation (the other main one is Maslows Hierarchy of Needs). Herzberg analysed the job attitudes of 200 accountants and engineers who were asked to recall when they had felt positive or negative at work and the reasons why. From this research, Herzberg suggested a two-step approach to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction, these were hygiene factors and motivator factors. Hygiene Factors: Hygiene factors are based on the need to for a business to avoid dissatisfaction at work. If these factors are considered inadequate by employees, then they can cause dissatisfaction with work. Hygiene factors include: * Company policy and administration * Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration * Quality of supervision * Quality of inter-personal relations * Working conditions * Feelings of job security Motivator Factors: Motivator factors are based on an individuals need for personal growth. When they exist, motivator factors actively create job satisfaction. If they are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and effort. Motivator factors include: * Status * Opportunity for advancement * Gaining recognition * Responsibility * Challenging / stimulating work * Sense of personal achievement personal growth in a job There is some similarity between Herzbergs and Maslows models. They both suggest that needs have to be satisfied for the employee to be motivated. However, Herzberg argues that only the higher levels of the Maslow Hierarchy (e. g. elf-actualisation, esteem needs) act as a motivator. The remaining needs can only cause dissatisfaction if not addressed. Applying Hertzbergs model to de-motivated workers These few examples indicate de-motivated employees in the workplace: * Low productivity * Poor production or service quality * Strikes / industrial disputes / breakdowns in employee communication and relationships * Complaints about pay and working conditions According to Herzberg, managem ent should focus on rearranging work so that motivator factors can take effect. He suggested three ways in which this could be done: * Job enlargement: It is a human resource practice used to motivate employees in a particular position. A job is enlarged horizontally through the addition of new responsibilities and diverse duties. * Job rotation: A system of working in which employees work in a range of jobs in a company so that they have different types of work to do and understand the organization better, it can help employers by keeping employees from getting bored and looking for another job. Job enrichment: Motivating employees through expanding job responsibilities and giving increased control over the total production process. Employees normally receiving training and additional support as well as increased input in procuderes. 4. VROOMS EXPECTANCY MOTIVATION THEORY Whereas Maslow and Herzberg look at the relationship between internal needs and the resulting effort expended to fulfil them, Vrooms expectancy theory separates effort (which arises from motiv ation), performance, and outcomes. Vrooms expectancy theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Vroom realized that an employees performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. He stated that effort, performance and motivation are linked in a persons motivation. He uses the variables Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence to account for this. Expectancy is the belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance i. e. f I work harder then this will be better. This is affected by such things as: 1. Having the right resources available (e. g. raw materials, time) 2. Having the right skills to do the job 3. Having the necessary support to get the job done (e. g. supervisor support, or correct information on the job) Instrumentality is the belief that if you perform well that a valued outcome will be received. The degree to which a first level outcome w ill lead to the second level outcome. i. e. if I do a good job, there is something in it for me. This is affected by such things as: 1. Clear understanding of the relationship between performance and outcomes – e. g. the rules of the reward game 2. Trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what outcome 3. Transparency of the process that decides who gets what outcome Valence is the importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome. For the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it. For example, if someone is mainly motivated by money, he or she might not value offers of additional time off. The theory has three key elements or concepts that it uses: 1. Performance-outcome expectancy: This means that the individual belives that every behaviour is connected to an outcome, and different levels of that behaviour can be connected to different levels of the outcome. 2. Value: With regard to that, the attractiveness of that outcome depends on the individual, for one, the outcome may be a highly values reward whereas for another, it could be perceived as a punishment. 3. Effort-Performance expectancy: Lastly, individuals evealuate the effort-performance expectancy relationship. In essence, the employee asks himself whether he will be able to perform a specific task and translates those perceptions to probabilies of success. He or she then chooses the behaviours that have the highest likelihood of success. Crucially, Vrooms expectancy theory works on perceptions, so even if an employer thinks they have provided everything appropriate for motivation, and even if this works with most people in that organisation, it doesnt mean that someone wont perceive that it doesnt work for them. It could equally apply to any situation where someone does something because they expect a certain outcome. For example, one recycles paper because they think its important to conserve resources and take a stand on environmental issues (valence); they think that the more effort they put into recycling the more paper they will recycle (expectancy); and they think that the more paper they recycle then less resources will be used (instrumentality). Thus, Vrooms expectancy theory of motivation is not about self-interest in rewards but about the associations people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they feel they can make towards those outcomes. 5. ADAMS EQUITY THEORY John Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioural psychologist, put forward his Equity Theory on job motivation in 1963. There are similarities with interpretation of previous simpler theories of Maslow, Herzberg and other pioneers of workplace psychology, in that the theory acknowledges that subtle and variable factors affect each individuals assessment and perception of their relationship with their work, and thereby their employer. One of the most important issues in motivation is how people view their contributions to the organization and what they get from it. Ideally, they will view their relationship with the employer as a well-balanced, mutually beneficial exchange. As peope work, they realize their consequences of their actions, develop beliefs about outcomes and asses how fairly the organization treats them(Snell A. S. Batemen T. S 1999, Management:Building Competetive Advantage). The Adams Equity Theory model therefore extends beyond the individual self, and incorporates influence and comparison of other peoples situations for example colleagues and friends in forming a comparative view and awareness of Equity, which commonly manifests as a sense of what is fair. When people feel fairly or advantageously treated they are more likely to be motivated, when they feel unfairly treated they are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. The way that people measure this sense of fairness is at the heart of Equity Theory. Equity, and thereby the motivational situation we might seek to assess using the model, is not dependent on the extent to which a person believes reward exceeds effort, nor even necessarily on the belief that reward exceeds effort at all. Rather, Equity, and the sense of fairness which commonly underpins motivation, is dependent on the comparison a person makes between his or here reward/investment ratio with the ratio enjoyed (or suffered) by others considered to be in a similar situation. Equity Theory reminds us that people see themselves and crucially the way they are treated in terms of their surrounding environment, team, system, etc not in isolation and so they must be managed and treated accordingly. Some people reduce effort and application and become inwardly disgruntled, or outwardly difficult, recalcitrant or even disruptive. Other people seek to improve the outputs by making claims or demands for more reward, or seeking an alternative job. 6. ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY A theory of human needs more advanced than Maslow’s theory is Alderfers ERG theory, meaning that Maslows theory has general applicability whereas Adelfer aims his theory at understanding peoples needs at work. Aldelfers theory builds on some of Maslows thinking but reduces the number of universal needs from five to three and is more flexible in terms of movememy in levels. Like Maslow, Alderfer also believes that needs can be arranged in a heirachy. The ERG theory infers that there are three sets of needs: * Extintence needs are all material and psychological desires. * Relatedness needs involve relationships with other people and are satisfied through the process of mutually sharing thoughts and feelings. Growth needs motivate people to productivity or creatively change themselves or their environment. ERG theory proposes that several needs can be operating at once, whereas Maslow assumes that lower-level needs must be satisfied begore a higher-level need is a motivator. Alderfer lifts this restiction. Accordning to the ERG theory, a higher-level need can be a motivator even if a lower-level need is not fully satisfied, hence several needs can be operating at once. Maslow would say that s elf-actualization is important to people only after other sets of needs are satisfied. Aldelfer maintains that people can be motivated to satisfy both existence and growth needs at the same time. Alderfer agrees that as lower level needs are satisfied, a worker becomes motivated to satisfy higher-level needs, but he breaks down with Maslow on the consequences of need-frustration. Maslow says that once a lower-level need is satisfied, it is no longer a source of motivation, whereas Alderfer suggests that when an individual is motivated to satisfy a higher-level need but has difficulty doing so, the motivation to satisfy lower-level needs becomes higher. To see how this works, lets look at a middle manager in a manufacturing firm whose relatedness needs(lower-lvel needs) are satidfied. The manager is currently motivated to try and satisfy her growth needs but finds this difficult to do so as she has been in the same position for the past five years. She is extremely skilled and knowlegable about the job and the fact that she has too much work and responsibiliies already leave her no time to pursue anything new or exciting. Essentially, the managers motivation to satisfy her growth needs are being frustrated because of the nature of her job. Alderfer postulates that this frustration will increase the managers motivation to satsfy a lower-levelneed such as relatedness. As a result of this motivation, the manager becomes more concerned about interpersonal relations at work and continually seeks honest feedback from her colleagues. Both Maslows and Alderfers theories have practical value in that they remind managers the type of reinforcers or rewards that can be used to motivate people. (http://www. envisionsoftware. com/es_img/Alderfer_ERG_Theory. gif) 7. McCLELLANDS NEEDS THEORY The theory was developed by David McClelland and his associates. It focuses on three needs, achievement, power and affiliation. Achievement is characterized by a strong orientation towards accomplishment and an obession with success and goal attainment. It is a drive to excel and to achieve set standards. Challening work motivates them and they take personal responsibility for success or failure. They like to set goals that require stretching themselves a little and have a drive to succeed, they strive for achievement rather than rewards. They wish to do something better or more efficiently than it has been done before. The people with this need look for situations where they can attain peronal responsibility for finding solutions to problems , in which they can get quick feedback of their performance so they can determine whether they are improving or not. This helps them to set their goals. The need for power is a desire to influence or contol other people. This need can be a negetive force which is termed personalizes power, if its expressed through aggressive minipulation and exploiting others, these people want power only to achieve their own personal goals. However the need for power can also be seen in a positive manner which is called socialized power because it can be be conducted towards the constructive improvement of organizations ans societies. It is basically the need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise. Individuals with a high need of power prefer to be placed into competitive and status-orientated situations and tend to be more concerned with prestige than with effective performance. Affiliation reflects a strong desire to be liked by other people such as your colleagues nd anoyone you may be working with. Individuals who have a high level of this need are more orientated towards getting along with others and may be less concerned with performing at high levels. These types of individuals are usually very social and friendly. The need for affliation is not important for management and leadership success as one would find it difficult to make tough but necessary decisions which will make so me people unhappy. They prefer cooperative situations rather than competitive ones and desire relationships that involve a high degree of mutual understanding. . McGREGORS THEORY OF X AND Y Douglas McGreggors theory of X and Y is a management based style of theory that tries to expalin different management styles and leadership behaviour within the workplace. McGreggor proposed that the organizations leaders and the organization as a whole has different views on the skills and motivation of the employees of the organization. These potential views can be described as Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X With Theory X assumptions, managements role is to coerce and control employees. People have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever possible. * People must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives. * People prefer to be directed, do not want responsibility, and have little or no ambition. * People seek security above all else. Theory Y With Theory Y assumptions, managements role is to develop the potential in employees and help them to release that potential towards common goals. * Work is as natural as play and rest. People will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives (they are NOT lazy). * Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. * People learn to accept and seek responsibility. * Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are widely distributed among the population. People are capable of using these abilities to solve an organizational problem. * People have potential. McGreggor did not see these theories as mutually exclusive and believed that managers could use these theories simultaneously. He compared his theory with Maslow’s where he put Maslows higher needs and Theory X together and lower needs to Theory X. This proposes that people who are seeking higher needs, such as self-actualization, are motivated by a Theory Y leader, whereas people who don’t have work-related needs are motivated by Theory X leadership style. 9. CONCLUSION In conclusion, It is therefore essential for organizations to look for and employ people who â€Å"fit† into the values of the organization and are able to function according to organizational values. Organizations must also have suitable managers who have the ability to coach and mentor their employees to deliver optimally. Enhanced leadership enables managers to motivate their employees to produce the best possible skills and practices in human resources. Research confirms the importance of motivation in leading employees and influencing them to stimulate and energize people so that they â€Å"work towards organizational goals†. Researchers have placed great importance on the responsibility of managers â€Å"to create a proper climate in which employees can develop to their fullest potential†. All these motivational theories have played a pivotal role in helping managers achieve the best results, and also helped undestand how important motivation is. Motivation thoeries give a broader explanation about how people perceive their work and lives, and how they use these insights to motivate themselves and grow, as people as well as in their jobs. 10. LIST OF REFERENCES NELSON, Q. (2011), Principles of Organizational Behaviour, 7th Edition, Place: South-Western Cengage Learning LUTHANS, F. (1998), Organizational Behaviour, 8th Edition. Place: McGraw-Hill Irwin. GEORGE, J. M and JONES, G. R. (2002), Organizational Behaviour, 3rd Edition, Place:Prentice Hall. MULLENS, L. J( 2010),Management and Organizational Behaviour, 9th Edition. Place: Prentice Hall. ANTHONY, W. P et al(1999), Human Resource Management: A strategic approach, 3rd Edition, Place: Hartcourt College Publishers. BERGH,Z and THERON,A. (2006). Psychology in the work context, 3rd Edition. Place: Prentice Hall. ROBBINS, S. P. (2003). Organizational Behaviour, 10th Edition. Place: Prentice Hall. ROSENFELD,R. H and WILSON,D. C(2004). Managing Organizations, 2nd Edition. Place: Oxford.