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Facts around motivators Internal Motivators Our personal value systems – The way we believe things ought to be Different Generations are motivated by different values Internal motivators are often referred to as ‘psychological rewards’ Internal motivators are intrinsic External motivators Tangible rewards – like salary, flexibility, working environment and conditions External motivators need to be aligned with internal motivators Abilities also pay an important part of motivation If we feel that our abilities are much greater than that required for our job, our motivation can be negatively affected due to the absence of challenge
Theories of motivation Motivation theories are divided into content and process theories Content theories are : Maslow hierarchy of needs, Douglas McGregor – Theory X and Theory Y, Alderter ERG theory, Herzbert two factor Theory and McClelland Achievement Motivation Theory Process theories are: Expectancy Theory, Equity Theory and Goal Theory. In this document I will be discussing the content theories. Maslow hiearchy of needs theory This was formed by psychologist Abraham Maslow, who believed that people were need based, and always wanted more. Once one need was met, people would move on to meet another need until they reached what he referred to as self-actualisation McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y Douglas McGregor developed Theory X and Theory Y as categories that describe people’s approach to work. Theory X is negative and assumes that employees are lazy, will avoid work, avoid responsibility and only focus on their own security. This theory suggests that employees will show little ambition and therefore need to be managed with an ‘iron hand’ by control and order to achieve organisational goals. Theory Y, as one would expect, is almost the exact opposite of Theory X. It describes employees as being motivated, self-controlled, self-directed people who will accept and seek responsibility. The manager does not need to control as much as coach and inspire. McGregor believed that people aligned more closely to Theory Y than with Theory X. He believed that involving people in decision making, providing adequate responsibility and challenge and good working relationships would be key motivators for these people. It was also discovered that people with high skills had lot to do with job satisfaction and productivity. Some managers took theory Y to the extreme and offered employees no boundaries or leadership, mistakenly thinking that was ‘empowerment’. In many organisations this resulted in confusion more than in motivation to increase effort. Alderfer’s ERG Theory Clayton Alderfer modified Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in a manner that better aligns with research findings. This is called the ERG Theory; Alderfer identified three levels of needs, based on existence, relatedness and growth (thus ERG). 1. Existence needs are concerned with sustaining our existence and survival. 2. Relatedness needs are concerned with our relationship to the social environment. They match Maslow’s social and the emotional safety needs. 3. Growth needs are concerned with the development of our potential. They align with the esteem and self-actualisation needs identified by Maslow Herzberg’s motivation – hygiene theory Frederick Herzberg conducted a study where he asked accountants and engineers, what was good and what was bad about their jobs. From this study, Herzberg concluded that the causes of job dissatisfaction were different from the causes of job satisfaction. Therefore just because a work environment was free of all ‘job dissatisfiers’ did not guarantee that people had job satisfaction. There were two factors that needed to work together. These were Hygiene and Motivation factors. Hygiene factors Salary Job security Working conditions Level and quality of supervision Company policy Interpersonal relations Motivation factors Sense of achievement Recognition Responsibility Nature of work Personal growth and advancement McClelland’s achievement and motivation theory David McClelland developed the achievement and motivation theory which says that there are three needs which drive people. Most people have a dominant need, but can display the other needs in a secondary capacity. The needs are: Need for achievement – a drive to improve performance and excel, while taking moderate risks Need for power – a drive to influence others and the environment Need for affiliation – a drive to have close relationships and a need to be liked by others
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