Motivation theories

2. What is motivation?
What can we learn from the needs theories of
motivation?
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3. Motivation
 Individual forces that account for the
direction, level, and persistence of a
person’s effort expended at work.
 Direction - an individual’s choice when
presented with a number of possible
alternatives.
 Level - the amount of effort a person puts
forth.
 Persistence - the length of time a person sticks
with a given action.
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4. Types of motivation theories
 Content theories
 Focus on individual needs – that is, physiological or
psychological deficiencies that we feel a
compulsion to reduce or eliminate.
 Process theories
 Focus on the thoughts, or cognitive processes, that
take place within the minds of people and that
influence their behavior.
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5. Motivation Across Cultures
 Motivation theories are largely developed from
a North American perspective.
 They are subject to cultural limitations and
contingencies.
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6. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
 Identifies five levels of individual needs.
 Assumes that some needs are more
important than others and must be satisfied
before the other needs can serve as
motivators.
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7. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5-7

8. Alderfer’s ERG
Existence: Theory of
Desire for Motivation
physiological and
material well-being
Growth: Relatedness:
Desire for
continued Desire for
personal growth satisfying
and development. interpersonal
relationships
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9. Acquired needs theory
 Need for achievement (nAch).
 The desire to do something better or more efficiently, to solve
problems, or to master complex tasks.
 Need for affiliation (nAff).
 The desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm
relations with others.
 Need for power (nPower).
 The desire to control others, to influence their behavior, or to
be responsible for others.
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10. Two-Factor Theory
 Identifies two different factors as primary
causes of job satisfaction and job
dissatisfaction.
 Also known as the motivator-hygiene theory.
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11. Hygiene factors
 Sources of job dissatisfaction associated with
job context.
 Job dissatisfaction results when hygiene
factors are poor.
 Improving the hygiene factors only
decreases job dissatisfaction.
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12. Motivator factors
 Sources of job satisfaction related to job
content.
 Presence or absence of motivators is the key
link to satisfaction.
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13. • Policies
• Salary
Hygiene • Supervision
Factors • Work conditions
• Relationships
• Status
• Achievement
• Recognition
Motivator • Meaningful work
Factors • Responsibility
• Advancement
• Growth
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15. 6-15
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16. • Reinforcement – immediately
rewarding positive behaviors with
valued outcomes.
• Equity – assuring fairness in type and
distribution of rewards.
The Integrated Model • Content – acknowledging individual
combines four key differences in motivational value
theories of • Expectancy – creating a linkage
organizational behavior: among ‘effort>performance>reward’.
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17. Intrinsic rewards
 Positively valued work outcomes that the
individual receives directly as a result of task
performance.
Extrinsic rewards
 Positively valued work outcomes that are given
to an individual or group by some other person
or source in the work setting.
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18. Pay for performance – the concept that
monetary rewards are in whole, or in
part, linked to accomplishments (individual or
team).
 Programs that provide incentives for employees to
increase their outputs.
 In the 2008-09 economic recession, HRGURU finds
that employers are finding that ‘cash is still king’
when it comes to incentives.
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19. Merit pay
 Compensation system that directly ties an
individual’s salary or wage increase to measures of
performance accomplishments during a specific
time period.
 Seeks to create a belief among employees that the
way to achieve high pay is to perform at high levels.
 Bonus – additional monetary award that meets
specified benchmarks.
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20. Gain sharing
 Gives workers the opportunity to earn more
by receiving shares of any productivity gains
that they help to create.
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21. Profit-sharing plans
 Reward employees based on overall
organizational profit.
 Criticism: organizational profits are not always
a direct result of employees’ efforts,
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22. Skill-based pay
 Rewards people for acquiring and
developing job relevant skills.
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23. Stock Options
 Provide employees with an opportunity to
buy shares of stock at a future date at a
fixed price.
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24. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
 May give stock to employees, or allow stock
to be purchased at a price below market
value.
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