The results of a 1992 survey on the subject of what motivates employees indicates that the factors that motivate today’s workers are more extrinsic than they used to be. Although employees differ on how they rank these factors, they overwhelmingly selected ‘good wages’ as the top motivator. “On the surface a good wage can seem purely extrinsic yet at a deeper level, monetary rewards communicate what the company values and effect employees emotional and familial well-being” (International Journal of Manpower, 1997).
It is because of the complexity of motivation, and the fact that there is no single answer to what motivates people to work well, that the different theories are important to the manager. They show there are many motives, which influence people’s behaviour and performance, and provide a framework within which to direct attention to the issue of how to motivate employees to work willingly and effectively.
Focusing first on needs theory; Abraham Maslow (1908-70) argues that individuals have nine innate needs and motives and can be arranged hierarchically with biological needs at the bottom, e.g. food, water etc leading up to transcendence and self-actualisation. Maslow stated that an individual’s ultimate goal is to reach those higher needs but that these kinds of people were rare. He explained that people were unable to reach the top levels of the hierarchy if their basic needs are not satisfied. This theory is likely to affect management practices as to motivate their staff, they must determine what level in the needs hierarchy each individual is at, thus adapting different motivational strategies for different groups of people. For example, past research taken from the ‘ Journal of Educational Administration’ examined the profession of ‘school superintendents’, which outlined their dominant need for power that tended to be coupled with low affiliation. A manager, having established their staff’s need for power, would perhaps motivate their employees by giving them more autonomy through added responsibility or job empowerment. Also, a different strategy from the journal of ‘Career Development International’ defines caring as a quality tool and that positive human interaction by leaders can motivate employees. Therefore the leadership style of managers would need to be considered in this situation. By applying Maslow’s needs theory in this way, a manager has a starting point at motivating its employees.
The second theory; ‘Equity theory’ which comes from the work of Stacey Adams (1963; 1965) focuses upon the ‘fair treatment’ of one individual compared with the treatment received by others, and this perception of unfairness leads to tension in the workplace which in turn motivates the individual to act to resolve unfairness. The motivation within this type of situation can be stifled if individuals are rewarded differently for the same effort and workload. A manager must realise that employees compare pay and inequity quickly generates resentment. It is also important for a manager to recognise that perceptions of inequity can generate tension, even where actual inequity is limited. Inequity can be a result of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and for a manager to motivate his employees, he must try to reduce inequity in the workplace using these factors leading to greater motivation and job satisfaction. For example, if one employee is underpaid for doing the same job as another employee, a manager must take the issue in hand and alter the inputs and outcomes of the underpaid employee i.e. giving them a raise and added responsibility thus reducing inequity. In addition, the theory suggests that the more intense the perceived inequity, the higher the tension and the stronger the employee’s motivation to act.
Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001 define expectancy theory as “ a process theory, which does not assume that we come complete with package of predefined goals”. For high motivation, productive work has to be seen as a path to valued goals and that our behaviour is instrumental to the achievement of them. The theory depends upon employees’ perception of what is expected of them to perform a particular task, whether or not they think they will succeed, and value rewards being offered when a task is completed. For a manager to motivate its employees, performance standards must be clear and rewards must be desirable and achievable for individuals. The ‘Management decision Journal, 1998’, explains how incentive programs and corporate pep talks can motivate employees to achieve goals leading to job satisfaction. And also by understanding Frederick Herzberg’s theory, managers can focus on strategies of creating job satisfaction through job enrichment.
The Journal of ‘Health Manpower management, 1994’ examines the introduction of the incentive ‘Performance Related Pay’ into occupations like nursing. Although proving counter-productive within this type of industry, this can be a motivating tool for some organisations, depending on the employees’ motivational needs. However money is only one of a number of extrinsic rewards, and to be motivating it must be linked clearly to job performance and be perceived as equitable. Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001 state “If different employees value different rewards, it may be necessary for a manager to introduce a ‘flexi benefits’ scheme, with choices between fringe benefits e.g. medical insurance, private healthcare etc”, thus providing incentives for all employees leading to continuous motivation.
The final theory managers can utilise to help motivate its employees is ‘Goal-setting theory’. This process can play a part in helping a manager to determine its employees’ behaviour by the setting of goals, which can give an employee a clear picture of his or her future. It is easier to adjust employees’ behaviour if managers make it clear to individuals what is expected of them. Therefore, the goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-related, thus motivating them in the workplace. The journal of ‘Management Decision’ concludes that there is research evidence to show that staff at all levels involved in their own goals will increase productivity, quality and motivation. In addition, from the journal of ‘Career Management’, research indicated that among 135 non-managerial employees in a medium sized manufacturing company, the impact of goal setting was stronger among poor performers than among good, and among employees with good relations with superiors. To motivate employees a manager must explain and justify goals, allow employees to take part in the goal setting process and, provide results of past performance to allow employees to adjust their behaviour and be motivated to improve future performance.
In conclusion, it is inevitable that managers today are increasingly concerned with the motivating of employees and often wonder what action to take. Personally, I believe that managers can influence motivation in a number of ways. After researching I discovered several articles illustrating ‘pay’ as the top motivator amongst employees in many organisations. However, after time, if a job although highly paid wasn’t equipped with one, more, or all of the following; a safe working environment, effective training of employees, appraisals suited to each individual’s needs and generally ‘highly motivated staff’, tension would rise, productivity levels would fall and turnover would rise. It is true that there are many ways a manager could go about increasing employee motivation, however, by combining some of these factors and applying the theories mentioned in this assignment to organisations, a manager can make good progress.
List of References
A.Huczynski and D.Buchanan, 2001, Organisational Behaviour An Introductory Text, 4th Ed, UK, Prentice Hall
L.Mullins, Management and Organisational Behaviour, 5th Ed, UK, Prentice Hall
Margaret P Collingwood, ‘Why don’t you use the research?’ Management Decision, 31 (1993)
Geoffrey C Lloyd, ‘Thinking beyond the box’, Health Manpower Management, 22 (1996)
Emilie M Lonardi; Donald J Willower Paul V Brederson, ‘Assessing motivational needs: the case of the school superintendent’, Journal of Educational Administration, 33 (1995)
Christopher Orpen, ‘Employee job performance …the effect of appraisal goal setting on employees work attitudes’, International Journal of Career Management, 7 (1995)
James T Scarnati, ‘Beyond technical competence: caring to understand’, Career Development International, 3 (1998)
Peter Tan, ‘Business excellence in entrepreneurship through motivation audit’, Managerial Auditing Journal, 15 (2000)
Mark A Tietjen; Robert M Myers, Motivation and job satisfaction, Management Decision, 36 (1998)
Carolyn Wiley, What motivates employees according to over 40 years of motivational surveys, International Journal of Manpower, 18 (1997)
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Appendices
