Motivation is an act of energising and activising the people to satisfy their needs. If their energies are channelised then it is going to satisfy their needs, human needs and social needs. Social needs if satisfied leads to a safe conclusion that the objectives are being achieved.
Robert Dubin has defined—”Motivation as something that moves the person to action and continues him in the course of action already initiated.”
It refers to the way a person is enthused at work to intensify his desire and willingness to use his potentiality for the achievement of organisational objectives.”
“Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.”
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Learn about:- 1. Introduction to Motivation 2. Definitions of Motivation 3. Meaning 4. Nature 5. Characteristics 6. Need 7. Importance 8. Evaluation 9. Types 10. Approaches 11. Theories 12. Aspects 13. Process 14. Determinants 15. Applications 16. Tools 17. Techniques 18. Motivation in Contemporary Workplace 19. Strategies 20. Problems 21. Significance.
Motivation: Definitions, Nature, Types, Theories, Applications, Techniques, Significance, Approaches, Tools, Problems and Strategies
Contents:
- Introduction to Motivation
- Definitions of Motivation
- Meaning of Motivation
- Nature of Motivation
- Characteristics of Motivation
- Need of Motivation
- Importance of Motivation
- Evaluation of Motivation
- Types of Motivation
- Approaches of Motivation
- Theories of Motivation
- Aspects of Motivation
- Process of Motivation
- Determinants of Motivation
- Applications of Motivation
- Tools of Motivation
- Techniques of Motivation
- Motivation in Contemporary Workplace
- Strategies of Motivation
- Problems of Motivation
- Significance of Motivation
Motivation – Introduction
The inducement to the people to contribute as effectively and as efficiently as possible is called motivation. It is a process of stimulus and response. It is nothing but an act of inducement. Human motives are based on needs. Some of our needs are primary and some of them are secondary.
Food, cloth, shelter, water, air, sleep, sex are some of the primary needs and affiliation, status, love and affection, self-assertion are some of the secondary needs of human being. These needs may vary in intensity and according to situation and time, but these are the motivating factors about which a manager must know.
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Performance of a group of individual depends on the needs of the group as well as of individual who are forming the group. Group’s needs may not be the same as that of individuals but given a common goal the individuals who are forming the group may come to identify themselves with the group’s need.
The sole responsibility of the manager is to recognise the group’s need without unduly and the imaginative compromising the needs of individuals who as a group have extended their helping hand for the accomplishment of a given task.
The manager creates and then maintains necessary environment for the accomplishment of the objectives. This he does by motivating—inducing the people to work for the attainment of the objectives. Needs give rise to wants and cause tension. Tension gives rise to actions. Needs, therefore, cause actions, but actions are to be motivated in order to give satisfaction.
Motivation is an act of energising and activising the people to satisfy their needs. If their energies are channelised then it is going to satisfy their needs, human needs and social needs. Social needs if satisfied leads to a safe conclusion that the objectives are being achieved.
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The efforts are thus being directed towards right channels in a right direction. This means that the management is making the people to work. If work is going on smoothly then it means that people at work have properly been induced, in other words, effectively motivated.
Motivation – Definitions: Provided by Eminent Authors Like Koontz and O’Donnell, Michael J. Jucious, Robert Dubin, Dalton E. McFarland, B. Berelson and G. A. Steiner
Koontz and O’Donnell are of the view that “Motivation is a general term applying to the entire class of drives, desires, needs, wishes and similar forces that induce an individual or a group of people to work.”
In the words of Michael J. Jucious—”Motivation is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a desired course of action, to push the right button to get the desired action.” It is nothing but an act of inducement.
Robert Dubin has defined—”Motivation as something that moves the person to action and continues him in the course of action already initiated.” It refers to the way a person is enthused at work to intensify his desire and willingness to use his potentiality for the achievement of organisational objectives.” “Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.”
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According to Dalton E. McFarland—”Motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, strivings or needs direct, control or explain the behaviour of human beings.”
Motivation has close relationship with the behaviour of human beings. It explains how and why the human behaviour is caused. McFarland considers the terms used in his definition in a general sense, “as forms of tension occurring within individuals, with resulting behaviour aimed at reducing, eliminating or diverting the tension. Understanding the needs and drives and their resulting tensions helps to explain and predict human behaviour, ultimately providing a sound basis for managerial decision and action.”
Thus, motivation is a term which applies to the entire class of urges, drives, desires, needs and similar forces.
The term ‘Motivation’ is derived from the word ‘motive’ which may be defined as needs, wants, drives or impulses within an individual.
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B. Berelson and G. A. Steiner have defined a motive as an inner state that energises, activates or moves and that directs or channels behaviour toward goals. Thus, motives are personal and internal. Keith Davis has defined motives as expressions of a person’s needs and hence they are personal and internal. In this article, the term ‘need’ should not be associated with urgency or any pressing desire for something. It simply means something within an individual that prompts him to action.
Motives or needs are Whys’ of behaviour. They start and maintain activity and determine the general direction of the behaviour of a person. Motives give direction to human behaviour because they are directed towards certain ‘goals’ which may be conscious or sub-conscious. A goal is an outward stimulus for the motive to work. The term ‘goal’ should be distinguished from ‘incentive’. An incentive is something an individual perceives in his environment as helpful towards achieving his goal.
Motivation – Meaning
The ‘Motivation’ term has been derived from the Latin word ‘movere’ which means to move. Any activity initiated or sustained by anything is called motive. Motive is a psychological force within an individual that provides him in motion. Motive is responsible for each and every human action.
“Motivation is a general inspirational process which gets the members of the team to pull their weight effectively, to give their loyalty to the group. To carry out properly the tasks that they have accepted and generally to play an effective part in the job that the group has undertaken”. – E.F.L. Brech
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Motivation may be defined as the process in which employees act in the designed manner by satisfying their needs and desires. This may be also defined as the process by which the efforts of an individual or group are energized and sustained towards attaining the goals.
Motivation means inducement to act or move. In the content of an organisation, it means the process of making subordinates to act in a desired manner to achieve certain organisational goals.
While discussing about motivation; we need to understand three inter related terms:
1. Motive,
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2. Motivation, and
3. Motivators.
1. Motive – A motive is an inner state that energizes, activates or moves and directs behavior towards goals. Motives arise out of the needs of individuals. Realization of a motive causes restlessness in the individual which prompts some action to reduce such restlessness.
For example – The need for food causes hunger an account of which a man searches for food. Some such motives are – hunger, thrust, security, affiliation, need for comfort, recognition etc.
2. Motivation – Motivation is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals. Motivation depends upon satisfying needs of people.
3. Motivators – Motivator is the technique used to motivate people is an organisation. Managers use diverse motivators like pay, bonus, promotion, recognition, praise, responsibilities etc., in the organisation to influence people to contribute their best.
Motivation – Nature
Motivation is mainly concerned with the directing of employees towards organisational objectives and mission.
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The nature of motivation is discussed as follows:
(i) Motivation is a Continuous Process:
As we have studied in economics, human wants are unlimited. It is said that, ‘Even God cannot satisfy all human wants.’ With the satisfaction of one want, another want preferably of the higher order crops up and this process goes on and on. Thus, new wants emerge when the present wants are satisfied. Further, all the wants cannot be satisfied at the same time. Wants are to be satisfied one after another continuously. Hence, motivation is also a continuous and an unending process.
(ii) Motivation is a Psychological Concept:
Motivation is concerned with the psychological aspects of the human being. The level of satisfaction, contentment, etc., by using the same reward/incentive varies from person to person. This is due to variations in aspirations, attitudes, feelings and perceptions of the individuals. Thus, motivation is reaction of the organs of the human body to the inducements/incentives offered.
(iii) The Entire Individual is Motivated:
Motivation is a psychological concept interacting with the total organs of an individual. Further, each individual is an integrated and comprehensive system. The entire system of an individual reacts to the motivation. Thus, the entire individual is motivated.
(iv) Frustrated Individual Fails to be Motivated:
Some individuals are frustrated despite the rewards due to the wide gap between his/her aspirations and rewards. Some of the frustrated persons become mentally ill and these persons cannot be motivated.
(v) Goals Lead to Motivation:
Goals form a part of the motivational process. Goal achievement results in the satisfaction of want. Goal fulfillment leads to reduction of drives and fulfills deficiencies. Thus, goal achievement ends the motivation process.
(vi) The Self-Concept as a Unifying Force:
Self concept is the life position of a person that he formulates about himself during his childhood. He thinks himself in the same way during his life time until and unless a major change takes place in the rest of the life time. Therefore, those who formulated a positive view about themselves during the childhood will be motivated by themselves in the rest of the life time. And the vice versa is true in case of negative self concept.
Motivation – 8 Important Characteristics: An Internal Feeling, Produces Goal Directed Behavior, Contains Systems Orientation, A Complete Process and a Few Others
The important characteristics of motivation are discussed as below:
1. Motivation is an Internal Feeling:
Motivation points to energetic forces of individual that drive them to behave in certain ways and to environmental focus that trigger these drives.
2. Motivation Produces Goal Directed Behavior:
Motivation has got a profound influence on human behavior; it harnesses human energy to organisational requirement. There is the notion of goal orientation on the art of individual; their behaviour is directed towards something.
3. Motivation Contains Systems Orientation:
It considers those enforce in the individuals and in their surrounding environments that feedback to the individuals either to reinforce the intensity of their drive and the direction of this energy or to dissuade them from their course of action and redirect their efforts.
4. Motivation Can Be Either Positive or Negative:
Positive motivation or the correct approach offers something precious to the person in the form of additional pay, incentives, personal benefits, etc., for satisfactory performance. Negative motivation or sick approach emphasises penalties while controlling performance.
5. Motivation Can Be Monitory or Non-Monitory:
Monitory may include increase in pay package, promotion, or any other incentive benefit. While non-monitory benefit may include job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, recognition, etc.
6. Motivation Means Bargaining:
Behaviour is what people do. Motivation is why they don’t. Barnard explained motivation in the form of Inducements Contribution Theory. It focuses on workers and organisation endeavouring to find what payouts (inducements) to workers in exchange for what degree of cooperation (contributions) from workers will be satisfactory to both parties. The problem of motivation then becomes one of arriving at compensation to workers that will cost them the output that is required.
7. Motivation is a Complete Process:
Five reasons can be provided in support of this statement:
(i) First, motive is a hypothetical construct. It cannot be seen. Often we observe individuals putting a great deal of overtime. We cannot definitely state whether they are doing it because of additional income they receive or simply because they enjoy their work.
(ii) Individuals may have a host of needs that are continuously changing, and sometimes, in conflict with each other. As a result, it becomes exceedingly difficult to observe or measure motivation with certainty.
(iii) People satisfy their needs in many different ways. A salesman may work hard to earn money; a second salesman may be inspired by his achievement motive and so on. By simply observing salespersons in action it is not easy to differentiate between these groups.
(iv) Promoting an employee to a new and more challenging task may intensify the drive to work harder in anticipation of the next promotion. Thus gratification of a particular need may gradually lead to an increase in its intensity.
(v) Finally, goal- directed behaviour does not always lead to need satisfaction.
8. Motivation and Satisfaction Are Related But Not Synonymous Concepts:
Motivation is the drive to satisfy a want or goal. It is concerned with goal directed behaviour. Satisfaction refers to the contentment experiences when a want is satisfied. The term satisfaction is used to analyse out comes already experiences by an employee. Satisfaction is a consequence of rewards and punishments associated with past experience.
Motivation – Need
1. Motivation helps to improve performance levels of employees as well as the organisation. Since proper motivation satisfies the need employees. They in turn devote all their energies for optimum performance in their work. A satisfied employee can always turnout expected performance. Good motivation in the organisation helps to achieve higher levels of performance as motivated employees contribute their maximum efforts for organisational goals.
2. Motivation helps to change negative or indifferent attitudes of employee to positive attitudes so as to achieve organisational goals. For example a worker may have indifferent or negative attitude towards his work, if he is not rewarded properly. If suitable rewards are given and supervisor given positive envisagement and praise for the good word done the worker may slowly develop positive attitude towards the work.
3. Motivation helps to reduce employee turnover and therefore saves the cost of new recruitment and training. The main reason for high rate of employee turnover is lack of motivation. If mangers identify motivational needs of employees and provide suitable incentives, employees may not think of leaving the organisation.
High rate of turn over compels management to go for new recruitment and training which involve additional investment of money, Time and effort. Motivation helps to save such cost. Is also helps to retain talented people in the organisation.
4. Motivation helps to reduce absenteeism in the organisation. Some importance reasons for absenteeism are bad working conditions, inadequate rewards, lack of recognition, poor relations with supervisors and colleagues etc., through sound motivational system. All these deficiencies can be covered if motivation is adequately provided, work becomes a source of pleasure and workers attend to the work regularly.
5. Motivation helps mangers to introduce challenges smoothly without much resistance from people. Normally for any change introduced in the organisation. There may be resistance for changes. If manger can convince employees that proposed changes will bring additional rewards to employees, they may readily accept the change.
Motivation – 6 Major Importance of Motivation in an Organisation
1. Proper Utilisation of Resources:
Motivation makes people work hard. When performance becomes result oriented, it in turn, brings profit to enterprise. The resources like money and material will be used at the optimum level to produce maximum output. Workers are required to use different modern techniques. Thus, improvement in their skills takes place, as a result of which both to the organisation and the individual are benefited.
2. Reduction in Absenteeism and Turnover:
Due to an attractive wage structure, adequate financial and non-financial motivational schemes do help prevent absenteeism to a great extent. This helps improve the labour turnover in the organisation.
3. Encouragement to Increase the Output:
If the system of motivation is implemented, the employees feel happy and contented. Needless to mention that satisfied and happy workers put their whole hearted and the best possible efforts to improve the production and profit.
4. Inducing the Sense of Belonging:
Existence of a good motivational system makes the employees feel that the management in all respects is looking after them. So a sense of belongingness amongst the workers is inculcated. This results in merging their interests with goals of the enterprise.
5. Promoting an Urge for Willingness to Work:
When we talk of willingness to work, you can assign a job to a worker but cannot force him do to execute it, as the adage goes – “You can take a horse to the water but cannot make it drink”. The accomplishment of a job is entirely dependent on the willingness of a worker. This willingness has to come from within. Motivation infuses the desire in an employee to put his best, leading to accomplishment of organisational goals.
6. Establishing Good Work Relation:
Motivation through its two-pronged system (coin and kind) creates a desirable work relation between the management and the workers. Such motivational plans benefit both the employee and the employer. These plans boost the efficiency of the work force and in turn the productivity. Thus, it creates a congenial work atmosphere. In a way this helps reduce the labour problems like absenteeism, indiscipline etc.
Motivation – Evaluation
Job enrichment has not always been on the credit side of the ledger. The success stories are somewhat incomplete and are based on poorly designed research surveys.
Critics generally attacked the concept on the following grounds:
1. Job enrichment is not a social cure for workers’ discontent. Moreover, it may not be possible to give priority to social efficiency over considerations of purely economic efficiency in long term. “The manager who pretends that the personal needs of the worker come before the objective need of the tasks is indeed a liar or a poor manager.” (Drucker)
2. Some jobs cannot be enriched beyond a certain point. “The prospects for humanising work are constrained by the realities of the work to be done – realities which are beyond the power of planners to control.” (Livitan et al.)
3. Many workers do not feel alienated from their jobs and do not desire more responsibility or involvement at their workplace.
4. Labour unions thrive on conflict with management. No wonder, they try to frustrate enrichment programmes by imposing restrictive job descriptions, tenure requirement, etc.
5. In the job enrichment programmes, we try to put all the focus on worker and how to restructure his job and forget the boss. A costly lapse indeed! Supervisors often feel that job enrichment programmes have sliced away a big part of what he feels is his responsibility.
6. As pointed out by Tregoe, increasing job scope does not automatically motivate workers and in many jobs it is impractical because they are not structured so that elements can be added.
7. The introduction of job enrichment programme may have a negative impact on some workers and result in feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure and a concern for dependency. For these workers, low-level competency, security and relative independence are more important than the opportunity for greater responsibility and personal growth in enriched jobs.
8. The majority of firms currently practising it have a rather limited understanding of the concept, they are not sure how, when and where to apply it. After examining the responses from 125 companies, Reif et al. concluded thus, “Companies do not adequately prepare employees psychologically for the greater autonomy. Responsibility and development is not given sufficient attention during the implementation of job enrichment . . . Organisational support for enriched jobholders is not forthcoming . . . Industry has done such a good job of conditioning men to perform as machines that employees now are having a difficult time performing as whole beings at work”.
9. Most of the time job enrichment is imposed on people. They are told about it, rather than asked whether they would like it or how their jobs could be made more interesting. Mitchell Fein’s research for the American Institute of Industrial Engineers indicates that the job enrichment does not work simply because workers do not want it.
Motivation – 2 Main Types: Positive or Pull-Mechanism and Negative or Push-Mechanism
There are two ways by which people can be motivated. One is a positive approach or pull-mechanism and another is a negative approach or push-mechanism.
Type # 1. Positive Motivation or Pull-Mechanism:
People are said to be motivated positively when they are shown a reward and the way to achieve it. Such reward may be financial or non-financial. Monetary motivation may include different incentives, wage plans, productive bonus schemes, etc. Non-monetary motivation may include praise for the work, participation in management, social recognition, etc.
Monetary incentives provide the worker a better standard of life while non-monetary incentives satisfy the ego of a man. Positive motivation seeks to create an optimistic atmosphere in the enterprise. Positive motivation involves identifying employee potentialities and make him realise the possible result by achieving his potentialities. Positive motivation can be referred as ‘Anjneya type of motivation’ in Ramayana.
Type # 2. Negative Motivation or Push-Mechanism:
One can get the desired work done by installing a fear complex in the minds of people. In this method of motivation, fear of consequences of doing something or not doing something keeps the worker in the desired direction. This method has got several limitations. Fear creates frustration, a hostile state of mind and an unfavourable attitude towards the job which hinders efficiency and productivity. So the use of it should be kept to its minimum and should be practiced discretely.
Motivation – 3 Important Approaches: Carrot and Stick Approach, Scientific Management Approach and Human Relations Approach
(i) Carrot and Stick Approach:
This is the oldest approach to motivation and rests on the assumptions that people are basically lazy by nature; they despise work; are avaricious and fearful; they seek pleasure and avoid pain; and would work either for getting money or for fear of losing it.
Implications of these assumptions are that for motivating men, pay them some money but not large enough to spoil them and that it would pay to keep them insecure. Both reward and punishment can be used in a judicious mix to motivate people to work.
Problem areas in this approach relate to the following:
1. Fear helps only to some extent. Once people get accustomed to fear, threshold of fear has to be increased. A stage comes, when employee gets de-sensitised; refuses to get intimidated by fear and becomes rather demotivated.
2. Monetary incentives cannot be offered in the government, except for an occasional overtime. Once it becomes a habit, people neglect their duties during office time, so that they can do the work after office hours and get overtime. They can ask for money even for performance of routine jobs.
3. People get suspicious of the incentive offered.
4. Frequent threats disturb organisational harmony and lead to conflicts.
(ii) Scientific Management Approach:
Scientific Management Approach of F.W. Taylor and others emphasises standardisation of work procedures and systems for getting better work performance. This approach was based on experiments at Midvale Steel Company.
According to this approach, the man is mechanistically-oriented and economically-motivated. One can get larger output by proper structuring of jobs and by providing suitable incentives or penalties for individual workers. This approach paid no attention to group feelings of workers.
(iii) Human Relations Approach:
Elten Mayo’s (1927-22) experiments at Hawthrone works of Western Electric Company disproved that employees were guided by economic considerations only and that wages alone are crucial in determining productivity. It was found that there was no co-relation of work-output with physical environment.
When changes in physical environment were perceived by the employees as good for them, the productivity increased. This was because employees felt important due to being cared for. The golden rule for motivation is that employees do perform better when they feel that the boss cares for them.
Motivation – 4 Theories: Content Theories, Process Theories, Reinforcement Theory and Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
1. Content Theories of Motivation:
Content theories of motivation deal with identifying the needs of the people and how they prioritise them. These needs include wage, salary in order to satisfy physiological drives, incentives, social needs, security needs, recognition, etc.
The various types of content theories of motivation, viz., Carrot and Stick Approach Theory, Theory X, Theory Y and Theory Z.
2. Process Theories of Motivation:
The content theories of motivation identify what motivates people, while process theories deal with cognitive antecedents that go into motivation and effort. These theories contribute to the complex processes involved in motivational effort.
Process theories, include- Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, Porter-Lawler Model, Adam’s Equity Theory, Cognitive Evaluation Theory and Goal-Setting Theory.
Reinforcement theory is also known as operant conditioning theory. Principles of learning and conditioning are used in the reinforcement theory to the process of influencing the motivation and job performance of people. B. F. Skinner developed this theory of motivation.
According to Skinner, behaviour of people is mostly influenced by its consequences. The actions that result in positive consequence tend to be repeated more often. On the other hand, the actions that result in negative consequence consequence tend to be repeated more often.
4. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory:
Abraham H. Maslow also attempted to study factors which motivated people. However, he believed that people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards. He believed that when a person has fulfilled his/her one need, he/she may seek the next need to fulfill which may be more challenging to achieve than the previous one. He developed the idea of “Hierarchy of Needs” which broadly categorised all needs in order of their importance. Needs which are not satisfied can act as motivator for influencing the human behaviour.
Assumptions of Hierarchy of Needs:
Assumptions considered to devise the hierarchy of needs included the following:
1. Humans have needs, want and desires which can be influenced by their own behaviour. The factors which are not satisfied act as a motivator for influencing human behaviour.
2. Human needs are multiple but they can be arranged in an ascending order in terms of their importance from the lowest to the highest. After the lowest level of needs is satisfied, the needs at the highest level may occur.
3. Higher the level of needs to be satisfied greater is the extent of motivation. This implies an individual will be most motivated to achieve self-actualisation needs but needs to initially tackle all needs below it to achieve most satisfaction.
4. The gradual progress in satisfying needs across the hierarchy improves the psychological health and develops a sense of individuality and humanity.
5. Different people will have different priorities.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
The five needs identified by Maslow are as follows:
1. Physiological Needs:
Physiological needs are the most basic human needs which are required for survival. They include needs for air, water, food, clothing, shelter, sleep, etc. To satisfy these needs humans breathe, eat, drink, take care of all bodily needs and they work for clothing, shelter and comfort to remain free from pain, hunger, thirst, feeling tired, etc.
When these needs are satisfied, humans are no longer motivated. In the organisational context, many firms offer a place to live (office quarters) close to workplace supported with basic amenities like water and electricity. These firms also pay salaries that cover basic expenses on food, clothing, gas, etc.
2. Security Needs:
Following satisfaction of physiological needs, humans need to feel physically and emotionally secured in their environment. While emotional security can be obtained from pension plans, provident funds, job security, etc., physical needs can be satisfied with medical insurance, reimbursements of medical expenses, life insurance, etc.
For example- if an employee possessing firm-specific skills decides to quit, the company can provide higher wages and incentive along with a new position and responsibilities to retain the employee and make this employee feel secure.
3. Social Needs:
When physiological and security needs are satisfied, the next set of needs humans move to satisfy is the need for belongingness and acceptance. As humans are social beings, we need love and to be loved, seek friendship, affection and acceptance by the group they interact. While the extent of social need is different from family/ friends in an organisational set up, companies attempt to create an environment of amity and trust for enabling ease in communication, team work and productivity.
For example- Mumbai-based County Cricket Club, hosts ‘Corporate T20’ tournaments for various multi-national and Indian companies consisting of employees participating in the sport of cricket. Corporate tournaments in cricket are as competitive as those are played nationally/internationally. Employees meet their social needs of belongingness and acceptance is satisfied by participating in such recreational activities.
4. Esteem Needs:
Esteem needs refer to the need for a positive self-image, self- respect and need for being respected by others. These needs may be satisfied through personal accomplishment and worth, promotions leading to more responsibilities, honours, awards and other forms of recognition.
5. Self-Actualisation Needs:
The final set of needs sought by humans subsequent to esteem needs is self-actualisation needs, which are the most difficult to satisfy. This last need signifies the need for self-development, self-growth, self-actualisation, self- advancement, self-fulfillment. It represents the desire to reach one’s full potential and gain mastery in skills, experiences or capabilities. Employees at this level are self- starters, have enthusiasm and the strong desire to prove themselves the best.
Maslow further categorised the five needs into higher and lower orders. Physiological and safety needs were considered lower orders, whereas social, esteem and self-actualisation needs were categorised as higher orders. The basis of dividing these needs into higher and lower orders was to differentiate satisfaction of higher orders that occurs internally or within the person (quenching thirst, eating sumptuous meals, etc.) while satisfaction of lower order can be achieved externally (recognition, rewards, respect, honours, etc.). The needs under lower-order need to continuously satisfied making them hygiene factors while the higher-order needs become motivator factors.
Motivation – Aspects
It is important to study the reasons influencing the role and importance of motivation in existing organisations. Motivation process begins with an unsatisfied need, desire or motive which causes physical, psychological or sociological tension within an individual. This leads him/her to seek a means or method to satisfy the need and thereby reduce the tension. Individuals take suitable actions and execute those means or methods further leading to certain rewards or incentives that are positive.
The positive reward or incentive is the means to motivation. This reward or incentive attempts to stimulate individuals towards achieving goals which could consequently also match with the organisational goals. Reaching the required goals will tend to restore physiological and psychological balance and minimise the tension created earlier. The minimised tension leads to satisfaction and a new need may emerge commencing the cycle of motivation process.
One of the most critical aspects highlighted in the process of motivation is positive reward or incentive which acts as a significant means to motivation. These incentives can be financial or non-financial.
1. Financial Incentives:
Financial or pecuniary incentives are monetary in nature which flows from the organisation to its staff. Money provides satisfaction of physiological (hunger, pain, thirst, etc.) and safety needs. There are two types – Individual financial incentives and; Collective financial incentives. Individual financial incentives include schemes, which motivate an individual to produce more such as salary, wage or provident fund, etc. Alternatively, collective financial incentives are given to a group of employees in the form of bonus, profit-sharing, etc.
These incentives aim to motivate people to achieve their objectives, improve their performance or enhance their competence or skills by focussing on specific targets and priorities and are summarised below:
i. Pay and Allowances:
Pay means salaries or a fixed amount paid for services to an employee and allowance is an amount of money allotted for food, travel and daily expenses of employees for regular intervals. For example- many employers offer meal coupons or meal vouchers like ‘Sodexo’ to facilitate tax free meals or groceries for employees. The meal voucher providers have tie-up with food vendors (restaurants and retail / grocery stores) through which employees can obtain food items by exchanging meal vouchers.
ii. Profit Sharing:
Profit sharing means that a company shares a proportion or percentage of their profits with their employees. The proportion or percentage of the profit is decided in advance. This incentive can possibly create an environment where employees’ contribution in the company’s profits is recognised and boosted.
iii. Co-Partnership:
Under co-partnership employees are allotted the employing company’s shares or equity instead of cash or cash incentives. These shares are issued as employees’ quota at special discounted prices. Employees can become shareholders, can share profits and can also exercise control over the company.
iv. Bonus:
Bonuses are provided to employees if they meet specific targets and are based on the annual performance of a business. There is wide variety of bonus schemes designed for different employees for different jobs. For example, salespersons are paid a sales bonus in addition to their salary if a sales target has been achieved or administrative staff is paid Diwali or Eid bonus and so on.
v. Productivity-based Wage Incentives:
Productivity-based wage incentives are mostly provided to workers and salespersons whose productivity is measured quantitatively. Quantitatively means that workers are provided monetary incentives on the basis of actual quantity of units produced or hours spent for working. Alternatively, salespersons are provided monetary incentives on the basis of number of units they can sell.
vi. Retirement Benefits:
Retirement benefits such as pension are monthly payments made to employees after they have retired from work. These benefits can also include provident fund, insurance and medical benefits for employees which can be availed after retirement.
vii. Perquisites:
Perquisites are incidental payments, benefit, privilege or advantage over and above regular income i.e., salary or wages. These can be a tip or gratuity or free use of company car or paid membership to a club.
2. Non-Financial Incentives:
When physiological and security needs are fulfilled by money, money tends to cease as a motivating force but becomes a factor requiring maintenance (through investments/ savings). Other than money, employees also require status, recognition in the society and a sense of accomplishment.
There is a wide range of non-financial incentives considered by the management across organisations in comparison to financial incentives as discussed below:
i. Status/Recognition:
Status is a professional position or standing of a superior, executive, employee or a subordinate that can be heightened through recognition. Recognition or praise is one of the most positive type of motivation and incentive that can boost employees’ status or self-worth and self-image in a business. This can include congratulating or felicitating in special gatherings/public, publishing about their good performance or accomplishments in the company’s newsletters or monthly circulars, new office space, enhanced role in decision making and so on.
ii. Organisational Climate:
Organisational climate implies encouraging employee’s participation in management’s decision and enabling two-way communication. Businesses can create an environment that enables employee participation/empowerment, feedback and recognition.
iii. Job Enrichment:
Job enrichment means increasing the content and responsibilities of a job that leads to upgradation of scope and challenges. Employees prefer job enrichment as the job becomes more challenging and can increase satisfaction and motivational levels among them.
iv. Opportunity for Growth:
A business that can create opportunities for themselves for venturing into new markets, products or services, is also capable of creating opportunities for employees to grow in terms of knowledge and experience. Employees feel satisfied and motivated to learn and grow in terms of personality and productivity.
v. Employee’s Reward:
Businesses can reward their employees for outstanding performance or achieving more than expected targets. These rewards can include gift vouchers or cards, prizes, paid parking or transit pass, paid vacations or tours for employees and their families.
vi. Job Security:
Job security is an assurance that employees may have about continuing gainful employment throughout their lives. Job security can be assured by signing a terms of contractual agreement, collective bargaining employment or (prevailing) labour laws that can prevent arbitrary termination, job dismissal, unemployment and lockouts.
vii. Employees’ Participation:
Participation from employees can be sought by asking suggestions or solutions for problem-solving. Employees are encouraged to speak their mind freely and their inputs are recognised possibly by rewards or financial incentives.
viii. Employees’ Empowerment:
Employee empowerment can be possible if the management of the company recognises the employees’ true potential and offers them crucial roles in decision-making. These employees are provided opportunities to oversee and take up more responsibilities in the organisation. They are also provided training to enhance their skills and knowledge that can be applied to meet the organisational goals and objectives.
Motivation – 4 Step Process: As Per Jucius
As per views of Jucius (1975), the following steps needs to be adopted in motivation:
1. Sizing up – This involves ascertaining motivational needs. All employees need motivation but of varying kinds and in varying degrees.
2. Preparing a set of motivating tools – This requires a selection of specific tools of motivation. An executive, from personal experience, from the experiences of others, and with the help of the personnel department, may draw up a list of devices that may motivate different types of people under different circumstances.
3. Selecting and applying motivators – The executive should decide the words, the tone of voice and the gestures to be used and make necessary rehearsal for their proper use. Besides, it has also to be considered where and when motivation is to be applied. The place and timing for this purpose are important.
4. Feedback – This involves the finding whether an individual has been motivated; if not, some other device may be applied.
During the process of applying the steps of motivation, an executive should be guided by certain rules.
According to Jucius these rules are:
1. Variability – The methods of motivation should not be the same but should change according to the circumstances, even no one set of motivators will be effective for everybody.
2. Self-interest and motivation – People are by nature, selfish. When a person realizes that his own interest are best served by the attainment of an organisation’s goals, he is likely to be motivated.
3. Attain ability – It is necessary to establish goals that are attainable and when such goals are achieved, it leads to employee satisfaction. Unattainable goals often frustrate people.
4. Participation – The desirability of the participation of those to be motivated ensures that their cooperation is enlisted.
5. The human element – Motivation appeals to the feelings and emotions. The executive who is most successful as a motivator can trace his success invariable to his skill in dealing with other people’s feeling. He can bring out the best in people because he makes them feel good, feel significant, feel worthwhile, and feel that they are growing.
6. Individual group relationship – Motivation must be based on group as well as individual stimuli.
7. Managerial theory – Management must base its motivational efforts on sound theory.
Supervisors and management for that purpose, have the responsibility to assess the motives and needs of the workers to decide how best these can be fulfilled. Each individual must be analysed separately to discover his motives.
Motivation – Determinants: Individual, Organisation and Environment
Three types of forces generally influence human behaviour:
(i) Forces operating within the individual,
(ii) Forces operating within the organisation, and
(iii) Forces operating in the environment.
(i) The Individual:
Human needs are both numerous and complex. Some of these needs cannot be described and identified, because people hide their real needs under the cover of socially accepted behavior. Further, each person is different and a variety of items may prove to be motivating: depending upon the needs of the individual, the situation the individual is in, and what rewards the individual expects for the work done. It is the duty of the manager to match individual needs and expectations to the type of rewards available in the job setting.
(ii) The Organization:
The climate in the organisation must be conducive to human performance. Climate plays an important part in determining worker’s motivation. The climate in an organisation is determined by a number of variables such as its leadership style, autonomy enjoyed by members, growth prospects, emotional support from members, reward structure, etc.
(iii) The Environment:
A worker does not live in two separate worlds, one inside the factory and the other outside it. The troubles and pleasures of off-the-job life cannot be put aside when reporting for work in the morning, nor can factory matters be dropped when returning home after work. On-the-job experiences and off-the-job experiences are inextricably interwoven and cannot be separated into water-tight compartments.
Culture, norms, customs, images and attributes accorded by society to particular jobs, professions and occupations and the worker’s home life—all play a strong motivational role. An individual may prefer to do the job of an officer (because it has social status and gives lot of power) rather than serve as a college teacher (powerless position). In other words, factors such as social status and social acceptance play an important role in shaping the motivations of people.
Motivation – 7 Main Applications: Job Design, Management by Objectives, Sound Salary Administration, Employee Participation Programmes and a Few Others
It has been established that motivation is well applicable to the work environment. Different factors motivate the employees. However, these factors vary from country to country. Focus is on the application of motivation through job design, job enrichment, job enlargement, de-jobbing environment, management by objectives, employee recognition programmes, variable pay, flexible benefits, employee involvement programmes like workers’ participation in management and quality circles and quality of work life.
Application # 1. Job Design:
Job design is defined as the process of deciding on the content of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities; on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures and on the relationships that should exist between the jobholder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues.
Two important goals of job design are- (i) to meet the organisational requirements such as higher productivity, operational efficiency, quality of product/service, etc. and (ii) to satisfy the needs of the individual employees like interests, challenge, achievement or accomplishment, etc. Finally, the goal of the job design is to integrate the needs of the individual with the organisational requirements.
Job design process has to start from what activity needs to be done in order to achieve organisational goals. It requires the use of techniques like work study, process planning, organisational methods and organisational analysis. The retaining part of the discussion on the process of job design involves the technical aspects of job design. The next step of the study is job design options.
Scientifically structured job design motivates the employees for higher efficiency, productivity and generates job satisfaction than the one designed on the basis of the traditional engineering system. Specification should be introduced in job design so that the needs of the employees for accomplishment, recognition, psychological growth, etc., can be satisfied. Personnel departments use a variety of methods to improve jobs such as job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. Thus, all this factors include in the job design options.
Application # 2. Management by Objectives:
Management by Objectives (MBO) is a successful philosophy of management. It replaces the traditional philosophy of ‘management by domination.’ It was popularised as an approach to planning by Peter F. Drucker in 1954 in his famous book The Practice of Management. Since that time, it has acquired momentum and of late it has become a movement.
Employee Recognition Programmes:
Rural Development Trust (RDT) is a pioneering voluntary organisation committed to the upliftment of rural poor in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Ashok worked in RDT for two years during 1992-94, before doing his MBA programme. He joined Hindustan Machine Tools in September 1996 after completing his MBA. Mr. Ashok says, he was very happy in Rural Development Trust though his monthly salary was Rs. 1,500 rather than in Hindustan Machine Tools where it is Rs. 10,000.
The reasons for this are:
His supervisor in RDT used to praise him for his committed work in the presence of his clients. Consequently, his clients used to treat him as a great person. Further, his supervisor praised him in the annual functions twice in the presence of the top management. His needs for recognition, prestige and achievement were satisfied though his salary was not attractive in RDT.
Organisations started recognizing the employees particularly after liberalization and globalisation in 1991.
Organisations announced a number of employee recognition programmes in order to motivate them:
i. Praising the employees in the presence of their colleagues regarding their achievements, excellent performance, etc.
ii. Providing long-term employment and job security.
iii. Presenting awards in the annual functions to those employees who are committed, creative and innovative.
iv. Providing wage/salary increments, benefits, perks and special bonus.
v. Inviting the employee and his family members to the company’s annual functions and other functions.
vi. Giving special treatments to the employee and his family members for special events like birthday, marriage day, etc.
vii. Honouring outstanding employees for their extraordinary accomplishments by giving them prestigious company awards.
Linking Recognition Programmes and Reinforcement Theory:
Rewarding a behaviour with recognition immediately following that behaviour is likely to encourage its repetition. Therefore, if the management recognises the extraordinary accomplishments of the employees, they are motivated to repeat their extraordinary accomplishments.
Organisations expect efficient performance from their employees in order to contribute to the attainment of the individual goals. Organisations reward their employees who contributed to the achievement of organisational goals. (Fig. 16.1)
Application # 3. Sound Salary Administration:
Management has to formulate and administer the salary policies on sound lines as:
(i) Most of the employees’ satisfaction and work performance are based on pay;
(ii) Internal inequalities in pay are more serious to certain employees;
(iii) Employees compare their pay with that of others;
(iv) Employees act only on gross external inequities;
(v) Employee comparisons of pay are uninfluenced by levels of aspirations and pay history; and
(vi) Employees compare the pay of different employees with their skill, knowledge, performance, etc.
Objective of Salary Administration:
The objective of wage and salary administration are numerous and sometimes conflict with each other.
The important among them are:
(i) To acquire qualified competent personnel- Candidates decide upon their career in a particular organisation mostly on the basis of the amount of remuneration the organisation offers. Qualified and competent people join the best paid organisations. As such, the organisations should aim at payment of salaries at that level, where they can attract competent and qualified people.
(ii) To retain the present employees- If the salary level does not compare favourably with that of other similar organisations, employees quit the present one and join other organisations. The organisation must keep the wage levels at the competitive level, in order to prevent such quits.
(iii) To secure internal and external equity- Internal equity does mean payment of similar wages for similar jobs within the organisation. External equity implies payment of similar wages to similar jobs in comparable organisations.
(iv) To ensure desired behaviour- Good rewards reinforce desired behaviour like performance, loyalty, accepting new responsibilities and changes, etc.
(v) To keep labour and administrative costs in line with the ability of the organisation to pay.
(vi) To protect in public as progressive employers and to comply with the wage legislations.
(vii) To pay according to the content and difficulty of the job and in tune with the effort and merit of the employees.
(viii) To facilitate pay roll administration of budgeting and wage and salary control.
(ix) To simplify collective bargaining procedures and negotiations.
(x) To promote organisational feasibility.
Application # 4. Employee Participation Programmes:
Organisations today are increasingly involving their employees in various activities. The management realised that employee potentialities can be used to the maximum extent only through involving them in decision-making and the implementation process. The formal employee involvement programmes include- worker’s participation in both management and quality circles.
The concept of workers’ participation in the management is considered as a mechanism where workers have a say in the decision-making process of an enterprise.
The concept of workers’ participation in management crystallises the concept of Industrial Democracy, and indicates an attempt on the part of an employer to build his employees into a team which works towards the realisation of a common objective.
According to Davis, “it is a mental and emotional involvement of a person in a group situation which encourages him to contribute to goals and share responsibilities in them.”
Within the orbit of this definition a continuum, of men management relationship can be conceived:
Workers’ Control → Joint Management → Joint Consultation
Workplace Consultation → Management Supremacy
Application # 5. Group Interaction:
A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting with and interdependent on each other, which come together to achieve particular objectives- groups may be formal or informal. Formal groups are defined and formed by organisational structure with clear-cut assignment, responsibility, accountability rules and norms.
Informal groups are the natural formations in the work environment and form in response to the need for social contact. Thus, these groups are not structured and determined by the organisation. These groups satisfy the social needs of their members. The important aspects of group interaction are group goals, participation, leadership norms and cohesiveness.
Group Goals:
Groups generally have two types of goals viz., task goal and maintaining the group itself. Task goal is related to the main function for which the group is formed. The second goal is related to dealing with interpersonal conflict, resolving it and maintaining interpersonal relations. Group members’ trusting behaviour will contribute to increased originality, greater emotional stability, less defensive and improved self-control.
Application # 6. Quality Circle:
A quality circle has been defined as a ‘self-governing group of workers with or without their supervisors who voluntarily meet regularly to identify, analyse and solve problems of their work field’. But there is a misconception that quality circle and taskforce are one and the same, quality circle is not a taskforce and the former is broader than the latter.
A taskforce is a group of most skilled employees selected and appointed by the management, engaged in various functions, with an orientation to problem-solving. The QC is a voluntary association of workers engaged in similar work with an orientation of human relations. QCs are formed to attain specific objectives.
Application # 7. Quality of Work-Life:
Employees at the grass roots level experience a sense of frustration because of low level of wages, poor working conditions, unfavourable terms of employment inhuman treatment by their superiors and the like, whereas managerial personnel feel frustrated because of alienation over their conditions of employment, interpersonal conflicts, role conflicts, job pressures, lack of freedom in work, absence of challenging work, etc.
Certain values were attributed to work in the past. Years ago, work was worship and people had sincerity and commitment to work. But today’s employee does not believe in such values of work. He works for his salary, he works hard if the conditions of work are conducive and congenial and terms of employment are favourable to him. As such, the work norms have been changing from time to lime.
Work norms in modern industrial society indicate that- (i) employee’s role in industry is different from his role in the family; (ii) superior knows the best and he has the right to impose on the subordinates; (iii) rules are for employees and they have to follow them and (iv) employer has the right to lay off the worker due to marketing and technological factors.
Motivation – Tools
Management can use a number of motivational means and devices, such as money, participation, job enlargement, job enrichment, management by results, management by objectives, theory Y techniques, project management, positive reinforcement or behaviour modification as advocated by Skinner and his followers.
Praise and recognition of good performance are good motivators to reinforce behaviour. Performance improvement must be rewarded with recognition, praise, promotion, pay raise, status, bonus, and so on.
Careful planning, organising, control through feedback, effective delegation, de-centralisation, communication and coordination together with participation of people responsible for performance are some of the major tools of managerial motivation.
(1) The Process of Mutual Involvement:
If people have a hand in setting targets for themselves, they Mil set good targets, and they will see that what is good for the company can also be good for them.
There are many opportunities for the manager to provide employee participation in the routine work situation:
i. Setting work goals,
ii. Planning for work accomplishment,
iii. Planning for work and performance improvement.
iv. Reviewing progress,
v. Providing exposure to developmental activities.
(2) Integrating the Communication Flow:
The process of mutual involvement does not ensure mutual understanding of purpose, problem, plan or action. Its natural bridge is communication the tool for understanding. Let all employees get adequate information they need to solve problems, make decisions, reach agreement and to understand plans, policies and programmes formulated by top management.
Given the right information, employees can use their energy with maximum advantage. There should be full understanding on responsibilities, authority, objectives and expected results. Knowledge and understanding of what is going on are essential to the growth of both the individual and the enterprise.
Management by opening the channels of upward communication should take all steps to encourage the creative response from the employees and capitalise on the individual’s unique qualities.
(3) Comprehensive Compensation Plan:
The third tool available to management is the establishment of sound wage and salary plan assuring adequate and equitable compensation to employees. The compensation plan must include incentive or bonus, both productivity bonus as well as profit bonus. It should be effectively communicated and well administered.
(4) Favourable Work Environment:
Both physical as well as mental environment must be conducive for best performance. It must release the creative potential of the employees for the gain and satisfaction of all concerned.
(5) Meaningful and Interesting Work:
Management can organise work in the plant or office in such a way that it becomes purposeful and consequently interesting. Job rotation, Job-enrichment, participation of labour in planning their work and jobs as well as in decision-making in the areas in which they are vitally interested are some of the significant ways and means to create meaningful and1 interesting work and best organisational behaviour.
(6) Money Fulfills Several Different Needs:
Apparently money is considered as lower level need in a developed country, i.e., a need that is quickly satisfied. In reality money is much more than a medium of exchange. It can satisfy even higher order needs. A person buys a new car, a new refrigerator, a new television set more as a status symbol, a prestige, recognition and symbol of his achievements.
Money can satisfy:
1. Physiological needs,
2. Safety needs,
3. Social needs,
4. Ego needs and even,
5. Self-actualisation needs.
Of course, money cannot buy supra-ego needs. (Spiritual needs).
Motivation – 12 Techniques: Monetary, Job Based, Management by Objective, Leadership Styles, Group-Based, Sensitivity Training, Sensitivity Training and a Few Others
Every individual has his own needs, which may be and many times, are different than those of other individual. Even if some needs of two or more individuals are the same, priority of their satisfaction is different. Thus it becomes very difficult to provide common motivational factor for all.
It is, therefore, essential to provide attention to many important needs and goals, and combination of inputs in order to make any motivational technique meaningful. Since human motives governing human behaviour and attitude towards work are multiple, managements can employ a variety of techniques to motivate its staff.
However, some techniques which may generally be used to motivate employees are as follows:
1. Monetary Techniques:
These techniques are based on the presumption that a man works for money. Money is the most powerful motivator. Incentives like more pay, fringe benefits, retirement benefits etc., are some examples of monetary techniques of motivation. This technique is based on monetary benefits.
2. Job Based Techniques:
These are based on social, human and psychological beliefs, Job implication, job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, freedom in planning for work, recognition, responsibility, achievement are the examples of this technique.
3. Management by Objective Technique:
Peter Drucker, a well-known contributor to scientific management, has developed this technique. This technique emphasizes on self-motivation. It is a participatory technique in which managers and their subordinates jointly participate in achieving the common goals. It requires adoption of management by objectives by the concern.
4. Leadership Styles:
Leadership styles or supervisory techniques play a vital role in motivating employees. Autocratic, democratic and free rein techniques of leadership are important styles and have their own impact on employee motivation, morale and productivity. The management must follow different supervisory styles in different circumstances for different employees.
5. Group-Based Techniques:
Herbal Bonner has advocated this type of technique for motivating employees. According to him management should foster group consciousness and cohesiveness among individual employees by laying down general norms and guidelines of work for the group as a whole.
6. Sensitivity Training Technique:
This is a technique of training given to group of managers so that they themselves behave in a better way with their subordinates and motivate them in a better way. The managers can understand themselves better. They acquire quality of open-mindedness as well as they develop insight in the group.
These taken together can cultivate a systematic approach towards motivation of subordinates. A trained manager is supposed to be more consistent in ability and willing to communicate with his subordinates and inspire them to contribute their best to the common goals and objectives.
7. Fulfilment of Needs:
Every behaviour of a human being is motivated by certain needs. It is one of the best motivational techniques. Needs and aims of the workers are searched under this technique. Steps are taken to fulfill them whether of individuals or of groups working in the organisation.
8. Opportunity of Growth:
This motivational technique believes in providing opportunities to the employees for their growth. This is done by providing training, refreshers etc., in which Knowledge and capacity of the workers are developed. If the employees are acquainted with new techniques of production their interest in adopting them is increased.
Secondly such an up-to date knowledge can prepare them to assume more responsibility which may satisfy their ego. Naturally such opportunities of growth will motivate them towards better performance. Some extra efforts are required from managers for making their employees more dynamic.
9. Praise:
A word of praise satisfies the employee’s egoistic need. It is one of the effective motivational techniques. A praise from boss inspires the employees tremendously.
10. Knowledge of Performance:
Every worker is always keen to know about his performance. Good rating of his performance gives him mental and job satisfaction. If a word of praise from the boss is added that serves as a stimulant and motivates him. If the performance rating is made known to the employees, they can add more efforts to improve their performance rating. In other words performance ratings motivate them to work better. Thus performance rating also assumes the status of motivation technique.
11. Participation and Consultative Management:
Under this technique opportunities are provided to the employees by managers for participation and consultation in management plans, policies, important decisions, solving some problems, difficulties of the business organisation. If the employees, are given a chance to be heard and to offer their views and suggestions, it creates a feeling of participation.
This, in turn, acts as a motivational tool. As well as to have knowledge and understanding of the problems and needs of their subordinates will also motivate the employees.
12. Career Development Plan:
A well designed career-development plan for all levels of the employees, motivate them to give best contribution towards the company. It, automatically, inspires the workers to use their skills, talents, wisdom for future growth and development, which ultimately results in attainment of organisational goals and objectives.
Motivation – In Contemporary Workplace
1. Motivating in the Knowledge Era:
The purpose is to highlight the peculiarities of motivation in the knowledge era. Individualism and self-motivation are the hallmarks of the knowledge worker. Self-motivation is often influenced by emotions and hence the relevance of understanding the role of emotions in motivation.
Although individualism is the hallmark of the knowledge worker, the workplace of the knowledge era is dominated by teams and groups that collaborate, and hence the importance of understanding team motivation and the concept of morale, which explains the force behind group actions.
In addition, an understanding what motivates the millennials is important because they constitute a significant subset of the knowledge workers. In this section, we will have a glimpse of these issues so that it sets the direction for a detailed study of this important challenge.
Motivating in the knowledge era with fast changes and uncertainties is a major managerial challenge. Changes in ownership, technology, methods of production, shutting down products and services, and starting new ones lead to job losses and militate against safety needs. In a world of turnover, layoffs, and closing down of businesses, bonding is a difficult task.
At the same time, groups and cohorts need to develop bonding, because the nature of work in the knowledge era demands that. These cohorts often tend to leave the organisation as a cohort to join a competitor or another business. This is the environment in which we have to understand how to motivate the knowledge worker.
Self-managed team is the hallmark of the knowledge era. This makes it imperative to understand self-motivation and team motivation. Most personal successes and high achievements can be traced to self-motivation. In self-managed teams, self-motivation holds the key to success. It is best understood through the process theories of motivation. An individual with a goal and high self-efficacy will be drawn to sustained action with direction and focus.
The basic steps that help to create self-motivation are as follows:
i. Establish One’s Vision:
This is done on the basis of what we are good at and what our passion is. If our vision is aligned towards our passion, then we tend to be more self-motivated. It is best done through a written personal vision statement.
ii. Vision to Goals:
Convert the vision into goals and smaller objectives that can be achieved in a practical time frame. The goals must be fairly difficult to achieve and aligned to one’s self-efficacy. Where efficacy is inadequate to achieve a goal, it should be possible to develop these in a practical time frame.
If not, create interim goals to achieve, rather than stick to a long-term goal and feel that it is impossible to achieve it. Identify people who can support you with resources such as material resources, opportunity, coaching, and feedback. Enlist their support and stick to a review and feedback schedule.
iii. Intrinsic Motivation:
The goals must create intrinsic motivation. Define performance standards clearly to know that the goals are being achieved.
Managers should teach their subordinates about self-motivation and how to achieve it.
How to handle self-motivation as self-managed teams are the hallmark of the knowledge era. A natural corollary of it is the team motivation. Many high-performing organisations emphasise on teamwork.
While most factors related to individual motivation find a place in team motivation, there are four additional factors that we should consider:
i. Expertise:
First, members of the team should collectively have all the expertise required to achieve the goals. If anyone lacks expertise, then it is important that such people are quickly coached, as any deficiency in expertise, would affect team motivation and success.
ii. Collaboration:
The team members have to deliver different aspect of the goal and integrate them to achieve the goals. This demands a high degree of collaboration. Team cohesion and frequent meetings, exchanges of ideas and information are helpful tools, but eventually, only a collaborative mindset of the team members would decide how motivated the team is.
iii. Trust:
Mutual trust is an important and a basic factor that influences team motivation.
iv. Social Loafing:
Some team members tend not to contribute. This can be due to laziness, having negative attitude towards the team, or feeling that their contribution does not make a difference. This lowers team motivation. Peer evaluation and evaluating the individual performance could mitigate this problem partially.
Emotions are closely linked to self-motivation and team motivation. Consider what happens when you fail to get a seat in the Indian Institute of Technology. You might feel angry, sad, frustrated, or jealous of others, who got the admission, but these emotions could also redouble your determination to procure a seat in the subsequent year. You may also go for more coaching and make additional effort.
Of course, you may also give up. This is the link between emotion and self-motivation. When we see renewed energy immediately after a failure, the underlying force is usually emotions. Emotions are also responsible for several spontaneous actions such as hitting or killing someone or withdrawing due to sadness or depression in the workplace.
It is equally responsible for super performance. In other words, emotions also have power to motivate people into action—often extraordinary action.
Emotions such as feeling of pride and anger are often used in the military to energise people to offset a failure. Collective emotions influence team performance. You can see that in the cricket ground. It is important that managers understand the power of emotions, both at the individual and group context, and use it to increase group performance.
We just examined team motivation and emotion. You might also have observed that the term ‘morale’ is often used in team or organisational context. For example, when our cricket team wins/loses, we say that the morale of our cricket team was high or low. It is apt to understand this term a little more because the term is used in a team context and has an emotional component.
The term ‘morale’ perhaps had its origin in war. Napoleon states that ‘In war, morale is to physical forces as three is to one’. Most books and articles tend to use the terms ‘morale’ and ‘motivation’ interchangeably.
Hardy, an eminent scholar on the subject, defines morale as ‘The mental or emotional state (with regard to confidence, hope, enthusiasm, etc.) of a person or group engaged in some activity; degree of contentment with one’s lot or situation’. Guba, another scholar, defines it as ‘a predisposition on the part of persons engaged in an enterprise to put forth extra effort in the achievement of group goals or objectives’.
Peterson defines it as ‘a cognitive, emotional, and motivational stance toward the goals and tasks of a group. It consists of confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and loyalty and a sense of common purpose’.
The goal setting theory of motivation and the definition of morale have the close resemblance. For instance, goal and self-efficacy are common to both. However, in addition to these, morale refers to enthusiasm and loyalty, or in other words, it has an ‘affect’ component.
Besides, although morale can be individual, the term is more linked to a group, and hence, there is an interpersonal component. As per recent research, key components of morale are- (1) affective components such as appreciation, trust and autonomy, feeling successful, interesting work, praise, and leadership, (2) goal component such as vision clarity, sense of purpose, challenge, and feeling successful, and (3) interpersonal component such as good atmosphere, team work, pride, contribution, and helping others.
Motivation – Strategies: Extrinsic, Intrinsic, Using Structure, Self-Motivation, Team Motivation and a Few Others
1. Extrinsic Motivation Strategy:
Organisations have the option to take a pure transactional view towards motivation and provide high salary/wages and performance incentives. Such organisations would have to pay salaries in the fourth quartile. The pay structure of an organisation in this category would be better than at least 75 per cent of similar organisations for most job profiles.
Organisations with high revenue, profit margin, and cash flow may adopt this method. The basic tool they use is salary and incentives. They may additionally provide benefits such as vehicle, house, insurance, promotion, job titles, status symbols, such as, office space, praise/feedback, and may encourage the superiors to be friendly with the employees. Elements of organisational culture such as openness and effective leadership may also find a place in this strategy.
2. Intrinsic Motivation Strategy:
Organisations, which adopt this strategy depend on the nature of the job and challenges in it rather than on salary and benefits. Science laboratories, non-profit organisations, and start-up businesses tend to adopt this strategy. These organisations tend to be highly innovative; less structured, and provide flexibility and opportunity to take initiative.
The tools they use are to create a culture of healthy workplace relationship, providing opportunities to grow, making work meaningful, creating a feeling of effective participation, and providing freedom to innovate. For example, in the initial years, Microsoft was not the best paymaster in the industry, yet it attracted the best talent which worked tirelessly and relentlessly merely because the employees felt they were changing the world by helping to bring a PC on every table.
Even fresh employees were provided with work cubicles, so that, they could focus on their work. Microsoft also provided subsidised food and drinks on the campus to make everyone feel they are a part of the organisation, so that, many employees would spend several nights and even weekends in the workplace trying to solve complex problems related to the software. The focus in this strategy is the work, and the assumption is that work itself, is a motivator.
3. Using Structure as a Strategy:
Organisations may drive workplace motivation by creating appropriate structure. For instance, a flat structure tends to create less hierarchy and a sense of freedom. A networked structure creates a feeling of oneness and smoothness in workflow. A matrix structure creates a feeling of contribution by working and contributing to several projects simultaneously. These motivate the employees in different ways.
4. Using Culture as a Strategy:
Most organisations have a culture of their own. Culture means the way things are done in an organisation. It consists of symbols, practices, and ethos that an organisation follows.
Celebrating birthdays, addressing everyone by name, everyone using the same canteen, adhering to a queue for boarding the elevator or for food, wearing uniform, using the term ‘we’ whenever a reference is made to a success and ‘I’ whenever a reference is made to a failure, and celebrating honest attempts that fail are components of a culture that motivates.
5. Using Growth as a Strategy:
Organisations may depend predominantly on growth to motivate their employees. They articulate their vision and growth strategy and show how the employees could leverage growth. Such organisations tend to provide long-term benefits such as stock options.
6. Self-Motivation as a Strategy:
Many organisations focus on self-motivation of the employees. Such a strategy works on the self-efficacy and self-image of its employees. They employ performance management system with a focus on challenging goals and encourage intrapreneurial behaviour (behaving like an entrepreneur within an organisation). These organisations support individual goals and work preferences and give importance to individual values, which act as powerful motivator. Many consulting companies follow this strategy.
7. Team Motivation as a Strategy:
Organisations may focus on team motivation, in which case the tools they employ will be team goals, team cohesion, inter-team competition, team rewards, team innovation, and creation of team sub-culture. Toyota is known for its team motivation through quality circles and kaizen.
8. Combination Strategy:
In reality, no organisation follows a single motivating strategy. It is usually a combination that works the best because individual drivers differ, and so, a combination has a higher probability of motivating a larger number of employees. However, every organisation has a ‘motivation signature’ of its own, for example, the signature of Google or 3M is innovation, and that of Southwest airlines is the value of customer focus and fun at workplace.
Motivation – 7 Main Problems: Problem of Implementation, Elements, Moderate Motivation, Uneven Motivation, Limitations of Employees and a Few Others
Motivation is mainly a psychological and social problem. Its concepts in theory are very clear while its practice in actual life is very difficult.
The motivation of employees involves the following problems:
1. Problem of Implementation:
First problem in motivation is of implementation. It involves the decision ‘as regards to deciding what should be done to motivate one individual. People differ in their expectations’ hence they require separate types of incentives to be motivated.
2. Problem of Elements:
The elements of motivation can be divided into four classes—motivator, motivated, motivation techniques and motivational circumstances. According to some experts the success of motivational measures depends upon the social and psychological level of individuals to be motivated. According to some other experts, the personality of the motivator is main element. But these all concepts are incomplete. In coordinated approach of these four techniques is essential.
3. Problem of Moderate Motivation:
The motivators should keep this fundamental thing a mind that motivation can be achieved on a moderate scale. Through motivation is an important tool in the hands of management to direct the behaviour of subordinates in the desired direction but it has its own limitations also. Sub-ordinates can be motivated to limited extent only.
4. Problem of Uneven Motivation:
The problem of uneven motivation is also important. An executive should know the individual characteristics which determine the effectiveness of motivational measures to a large extent. All individuals do not possess equal education, like attitudes and level of aspirations. Educated and skilled employees can be motivated more in comparison to unskilled and uneducated workers. The basis of motivation is the need of employees. They should be recognized, identified and then satisfied through various types of incentives.
5. Limitations of Employees:
The management should keep in mind the limitations of employees also. They are not only for business organisations. They owe certain responsibilities of their families’ social circle, city and nation also so; the management should not accept their whole hearted loyalty and dedication for organisation only.
6. Motivation is Situation Oriented:
Implementing the concept of motivation is always situation oriented. The management should try to understand the situation properly and then any measure should be taken to motive the employees. To motivate others the executive himself must be well motivated. He will prove to be an example to be emulated. Sub-ordinates get inspiration from him.
7. Motivation is an Internal Instinct:
In the last but not the least, the management should not forget it that motivation by nature is an internalized process. It comes from inside but some reinforcements are needed to utilize it for practical purposes Manager can give only start but actual and effective motivation will depend upon the internal will of the sub-ordinate itself.
Motivation – Significance
The word ‘motivation’ is used frequently and prominently by the people of different occupations and professions. A student says, “Mathematics teacher motivated me a lot positively during my school days and hence, I am very much interested in Mathematics.” A salesman says, “the new marketing manager does not motivate the sales force and hence the sales of our company are dwindling these days.”
Further, scientists, researchers, politicians, managers and the like refer to the term ‘motivation’ quite often. Even, we come across the word, ‘motivation’ in the Ramayana when Lord Anjaneya was encouraged/motivated by Jambava to fly over the sea by identifying the potentialities of Lord Anjaneya.
This is a positive effort of motivation. This simple example tells us what motivation could do. In other words, motivation makes the impossible things possible. Thus, motivation plays an important role in converting the human potentialities into performance that lead to high level achievements.
Further, the importance of motivation can be explained as indicated hereunder:
i. Motivation identifies employee potentialities and makes the employee to know his potentialities.
ii. Motivation converts the potentialities into performance.
iii. Motivation converts motivated employees into committed and loyal employees.
iv. Motivated employees explore the alternative methods of performing a task and they select a better method than the existing method. Motivated employees use their innovative and creative skills, talents, etc., and offer creative ideas to the management. This factor, in turn results in the upgradation of technology and technical know-how.
v. If the employee has a positive attitude towards quality and has also been motivated by the production manager, his concern towards quality increases. The increased concern towards quality results in high quality in production/operations.
vi. Increase in productivity- Motivated workers exert all their energies towards the job. This would in turn result in increase in employee efficiency and thereby productivity. Added to this, the committed employees do the work in a better way, and also reduce the wastage, which, in turn, contributes to higher productivity.
vii. Human resources development- Motivation results in exploring potentialities, development of skills, knowledge and abilities. This, in turn, leads to the development of human resources.
viii. Motivated employees behave positively, maintain sound human relations, congenial superior- subordinate relations.
ix. Motivated employees formulate efficient strategies in order to achieve the corporate objectives and compete with the competitors.
x. The present day high-technology and software industries depend upon highly self- motivated employees.
xi. Proper utilisation of human resources- motivation identifies human potentialities and channel them towards organisational objectives. This results in increased efficiency and productivity due to utilisation of human resources where they are appropriately fit.
xii. Optimum utilisation of other resources- All other resources without human resources can produce nothing. Human resources make use of all other resources like material and finance and produce products or services. The motivated human resources utilise all other resources to the optimum extent and maximise productivity.
xiii. Builds congenial industrial relations- Motivation maintains discipline, sound superior- subordinate relations and sound relations among colleagues. This, in turn, leads to congenial industrial relations.
xiv. Basis for cooperation- Motivation makes the people understand each other completely, leads to group work and team spirit. These, in turn, lead to unreserved cooperation and collaboration among members of a department and organisation.