How might a knowledge of motivational theories help you, as manager of a supermarket chain, introduce policies to increase the motivation and productivity of your employees?
Assignment ? 1:
How might a knowledge of motivational theories help you, as manager of a supermarket chain, introduce policies to increase the motivation and productivity of your employees? Use both theory and practice to support your answer.
Word Count: 1498
INTRODUCTION
"Motivation" is defined as the reason why people behave in certain ways. Many theories have tried to explain motivation in order to control it and use it as a managerial technique to improve staff performance.
?DISPOSITIONAL MOTIVATION THEORIES
The dispositional theories try to explain motivation thanks to an understanding of people's psychology (needs, personality etc)
) Content theories
Content theories are concerned with people's fundamental needs and how they determine motivation factors.
?Maslow's "hierarchy of relative prepotency" or "hierarchy of needs"(1942)
Maslow states that people have five basic needs which are in order of importance:
* "Physiological needs"
* "Safety and security needs"
* "Love/Belonging needs"
* "Self-esteem needs"
* "Self actualisation needs"
"This diagram shows Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more primitive needs at the bottom." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs accessed 28 March 2007)
Maslow's theory is that people's behaviour is conditioned by these needs, which they will aim to satisfy, starting at the bottom of the hierarchy.
This theory is obviously too simplistic to be implemented as not everybody's needs can be summarised and sorted into order of importance as this pyramid suggests.
I.e. some people's social and self-esteem needs can be at the same level of importance or in a different order. However, it can give some guidelines to managers by informing them of what people generally look for in their job: "(1) Pay levels are commensurate with peoples experience, skills, abilities and responsibilities so that they can clothe, feed and house themselves comfortably (2) that the workplace is safe and there is a reasonable level of job security (3) that opportunities for socialisation are developed e.g. team working, so that people can interact with others. (4) People are recognised for their contribution to performance so that they feel valued and (5) advancement opportunities are available to all."
? McClelland's "managerial needs" theory (1961)
A more efficient theory (at least in small groups) is McClelland's "managerial needs" theory which suggests that each person's individual needs are different. It encourages managers to get to know their staff's needs in three specific areas which are; "achievement, affiliation and power" so that more personalised, and therefore more potent policies can be introduced. In big companies, the number of staff is too important for the manager to be concerned with each person's individual needs and to behave accordingly. However, in small companies (or in small working teams) a manager could get to know each member of his staff so as to match his/her behaviour and policies to their needs. I.e. if an employee has strong needs for affiliation then the manager can try to socialise more with this person and give them a position in the company which allows more human relations (like taking appointments, welcoming and advising customers etc instead of working in the back of the shop).
Generally, managers influenced by content theories will just be more attentive to their staff and their needs as human beings on a continual basis, as these needs can evolve and change depending on the situational factors. I.e. after an argument, an employee may feel angry and want to limit his contact with people. However, this policy has certain limits. Indeed, an accountant can't have as much contact with people as a customer advisor. He will then have to fulfil his social needs outside the workplace.
One of the main problems with these two content theories is ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Generally, managers influenced by content theories will just be more attentive to their staff and their needs as human beings on a continual basis, as these needs can evolve and change depending on the situational factors. I.e. after an argument, an employee may feel angry and want to limit his contact with people. However, this policy has certain limits. Indeed, an accountant can't have as much contact with people as a customer advisor. He will then have to fulfil his social needs outside the workplace.
One of the main problems with these two content theories is that even though the link between them and motivation is clear, the link between this motivation and performance hasn't been proven. As a result, the staff are satisfied with their jobs, but the productivity of the company does not necessarily increase. Thus, instead of trying to change the situation (managerial policies) to match the staff needs / goals (which leads to job satisfaction but not necessarily performance), managers could try to change their staff needs so they match the organisational goals and therefore increase productivity. This could also be defined as directing motivation towards performance. A good example of this is the benefit of having staff with high self-esteem needs, as it has been shown that self-esteem plays an important role in commitment to goals (Aldefer, 1969). Managers can increase the employees self-esteem by showing faith in their skills and / or setting increasingly difficult goals as the achievement of the initial (easy) tasks will give them enough confidence to undertake more difficult ones. It can be even more beneficial to improve the employee's (A) self-esteem with these methods than to hire new staff (B) who already believe in themselves. In fact, the employee's (A) are likely to associate the enjoyable feeling of self-esteem to the achievement of the companies goals, and will therefore want to keep on achieving them, whereas the employees (B) will tend to believe that their decisions are the best and will not easily accept the companies goals. The latter can be good managers but not good employees.
2) Process theories
These theories, that are concerned with the psychological process that leads to motivation, are quite popular as they set general rules that can be applied to any employee, contrary to the content theories.
? Expectancy theory, Vroom (1964)
The expectancy theory defines motivation as the psychological disposition of a person to provide efforts according to the link they perceive between their efforts, their performance and the outcomes ("expectancy"), as well as their assessment of their efforts compared to the outcomes ("value"). The link between efforts and performance is called "expectancy", whereas the link between performance and outcomes is called "instrumentality".
Effort ????????Performance ???????? Outcomes
Expectancies Instrumentality
(adapted from Figure 12.3 "Expectancy theory relationships" p.361 Tim Hannagan (2005) Management Concepts and practices Fourth Edition. FT Prentice Hall)
If any of these links are perceived by the employee as being broken e.g. the employee doesn't believe his efforts will be rewarded and / or the outcomes (rewards) don't offset the efforts, according to him, then motivation will not be initiated. This idea can be summarized with the following expression: "Motivation = Expectancy * Value" This theory highlights the necessity of a reward (not necessarily material) to motivate people. It also shows the importance of communication and trust between managers and employees. Indeed, if the employee doesn't believe the reward is within his reach, no matter how attractive it is, he will not be motivated. Finally, it teaches managers the essentiality of fairness. An unfair reward (either too big or too small) will have the effect of de-motivating the employee who will either think the rewards are too easy to achieve (so no need to try harder) or his efforts are not worthwhile (so what's the point trying ?). Since the assessment of efforts and rewards are quite subjective, a good communication (again) has to be established between the manager and the employee to ensure fairness.
?Goal setting theory, Ed Docke (1968)
This theory rises from the previous one as "expectancy" and "value" still play an important role. First, let's focus on "expectancy" which is one important condition for the employee to accept the goal and be committed to it. How can a manager convince an employee that their efforts will be worthwhile for achieving the goal? The first step would be to make sure that the goal is "SMART" ("Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-bound") The table below explains this concept:
"Attainable & Realistic"
This aspect is obviously necessary to convince the employee that he can achieve the goal. Thus, a manager has to discuss with their employee to be aware of any potential doubts they may have and reassure them. On the other hand, a manager has also to make sure that the goal is challenging, as one of the rewards people look for while achieving a goal is pride and self-esteem. A manager can find a balance between "realism" and "challenge" by looking for examples of good performances (in the company or even other companies) and trying to follow their path.
"Specific"
The best way to make the employee accept the goal is to let them assess it and determine themselves whether it is achievable or not (before any debate is undertaken), which is why the goal has to be well described and specific. Another argument would be that difficult but specific goals can be broken down into several easier sub-goals to increase the probability of success. Finally, specific and organised goals can be easily measured, which leads us to the next aspect.
"Measurable"
To be beneficial, measures (of productivity, quality etc) have to be "positive and informational" as opposed to "negative and controlling"(Zhou,1998), as it can make employees think that managers do not believe in their abilities and make them work in a pressurised environment rather than in a trusting / motivating atmosphere. Measures give information about the effectiveness of particular work behaviours, which is helpful in reaching the goal as it lets the manager know the potency of his / her methodological techniques and tactics at any time during the goal-reaching process. The manager can then rectify his / her mistakes. Measures are also beneficial for employees as they can give them "small" rewards i.e. pride (while waiting for the final reward) and motivate them as they see that they get closer towards the goal.
"Time-bound"
Giving a timescale to the goal makes it more specific and has the same benefits as the "measurable" variable. It also makes the goal less abstract for the employee, which is motivating. Furthermore, it allows managers to set timeframes which organise the different sub-goals and minimise conflict between them.
Finally, the employee has to believe that achieving the goal is important so they feel like they are useful to the company, which (again) highlights the necessity of support from managers. Thus, people always need some kind of reward, i.e. psychological, social, material etc to accept to make efforts.
?SITUATIONAL MOTIVATION THEORIES
Unlike the dispositional theories, situational theories do not deal with people's psychology and how it influences a given situation through their behaviour. Conversely, they focus solely on the relationship between the situation and the behaviour. This approach "when used in a strategic planned way to motivate organisational behaviour" is called "Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM)". This theory is based on the belief that behaviour is strongly influenced by antecedents and consequences. Antecedents are the situational facts that occur before a behaviour, whereas consequences are the situational facts brought by the behaviour, namely facts that occur after a behaviour. I.e. It starts to rain (antecedent) so people open their umbrella (behaviour), so they are not wet (consequence). In the workplace, antecedents for employees can be rules and procedures, when consequences can be rewards or punishments. Employee's behaviour can be controlled to some extent, as antecedents and consequences can be set to encourage them to act in certain ways i.e. antecedent: "You have to increase the productivity by 1%" consequence: "you've reached the goal, therefore your wages will be increased by 2%". The table below gives the characteristics of an efficient antecedent:
It is strongly linked to the consequence i.e. when the phone rings, you are 99% sure to talk to someone if you answer it.
2
The behaviour immediately follows the antecedent (? "You have to start being more organised now, not in two years time.")
3
It is specific, so the employees know exactly what is expected from them.
4
The importance given by the employee to the antecedent is substantial (which pretty much depends on the importance given to the expected consequences)
The table below gives the characteristics of an efficient consequence:
The importance given by the employee to the consequence is substantial (rewards usually have more effect than punishments) => "value",Vroom
2
It is likely to happen, according to the employee => "expectancy",Vroom
3
It occurs immediately after the behaviour i.e. Nobody wants to wait five years for a reward.
It is also important to realise that one behaviour can have multiple consequences, but only the most appealing consequence will have an influence on the employee's behaviour.
CONCLUSION:
Thus, there is no one best way to motivate people, as the application of these theories always depends on the employees' personality . However, the main conclusion we can drawn is that people need some kind of reward i.e. psychological, social, material, etc to provide efforts. Managers will therefore have to analyse the situation before choosing the appropriate theory combination to increase their staff motivation and productivity.
Finally, it is important to realise that performance is not only conditioned by motivation, but also by other factors such as ability and "the presence and quality of organisation support systems".
PERSON = Internal Psychological Factors (emotion, needs, values, goals, etc)
(adapted from Figure 12.1 "Bandura's model of reciprocal determinism" p.352 Tim Hannagan (2005) Management Concepts and practices Fourth Edition. FT Prentice Hall)
Reference material:
Tim Hannagan (2005) Management Concepts and practices Fourth Edition. FT Prentice Hall
7
