Motivation at Work: Motivational Theories
explanatory Essay
911 words
The field of business has grown exponentially in every aspect, from small, innovative companies springing up to huge corporations that dominate their spheres. All this growth leads to great change in the inner workings of any business; strategies and theories abound as establishments attempt to beat their competitors. Amongst all this competition, many companies look to their employees to be the deciding factor in their success, and as such, employee motivation has not only grown to become a matter of great importance to most businesses, but has often laid down the foundations to their prosperity. Many theories have been put forth to help guide managers and businesses on how they should handle their workforce, which has lead to the possibility of businesses being able to take a wide and all encompassing view on their motivational capabilities and options. However, this is not to say that the task of employee stimulation is an easy one. Many aspects decide on the success of these motivational strategies, with every business having their own differences. Yet with the use of these strategies, theories, guidelines and a touch of innovation many businesses have found their own niche to positive results. A busy, determined and clever worker is often able to make a success of himself in the field of business. With this mentality, many employees hope to show off their skills and ability so that they can succeed. This attitude is the foundation of the theory of equity, based on the work of J. Stacy Adams, which attempts to explain the relationship between employee satisfaction and effort. Simply put, it illustrates that a worker will only be happy if he is rewarded according to the amount of effort he puts in. If another worker does equ... ... middle of paper ... ...have developed a system that has and continues to produce favorable results for themselves. Motivational theories are but a guideline to any business structure, every company has different situations and conditions. Yet the satisfaction of employees is a vital component to the success of companies in the competitive market that is today, thus it would be remiss to not follow in the footsteps of companies such as Google and use motivation in the workforce as an essential and pivotal tool to success. Works Cited Lopau Tinokla. “Motivation in the Workplace: Maslow, Alderfer, and Herzberg”. tinokla.lopau.com. 08/24/2008. Web. 04/27/2014. Brassfield Marissa. “How Google Continues to Keep Employees Happy”. Payscale. 03/21/2013. Web. 04/27/2014. “Two Factor Theory: Herzberg” Boundless. Web. 04/27/2014. “Motivation Theories: Behavior” Cliffsnotes. Web. 04/27/2014.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the theory of equity, based on the work of j. stacy adams, which attempts to explain the relationship between employee satisfaction and effort.
- Explains victor vrooms expectancy theory, which reinforces the importance of managerial communication with regards to performance and rewards.
- Explains frederick herzberg's two factor theory, which recognizes two elements of motivation, satisfiers and dissatishivers.
- Explains that the field of business has grown exponentially in every aspect, from small, innovative companies springing up to huge corporations that dominate their spheres.
- Opines that google inc. has become the forerunner in employee inspiration and has created a work environment that correlates with innovative and talented employees.
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- Motivational Theoriesexplanatory essayMotivation is the force that makes us do things, whether accomplishing personal goals or completing tasks at work. Most people are motivated as a result of their individual needs being satisfied, which gives them the inspiration to perform specific behaviors for which they receive rewards (Kinicki & Williams, 2011). These needs vary from person to person, as everybody has specific needs to be satisfied. When we consider factors that determine the motivation of employees, many of us think of a high salary. This answer is correct for the reason that some employees will be motivated by money, but mostly wrong for the reason that it does not satisfy other needs to a lasting degree (Bizhelp24, 2010). This supports the idea that human motivation is a personal characteristic and not a one-size-fits-all option. Managers will achieve a better rate of motivation in their employees by identifying the key factors that determine the rate of motivation. These factors are linked directly to the employees’ individual needs, behavior, and attitudes.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that motivation is the force that makes us do things, whether accomplishing personal goals or completing tasks at work.
- Explains that there are numerous motivational theories that attempt to explain how motivation works, but the challenge is applying them to actual situations or individuals.
- Explains that compensation based solely on commissions does not address other motivational factors that will motivate sales staff to peak performance.
- Explains how a successful motivational program recognizes these factors and combines awards, recognition, and peer pressure. this is consistent with the erg theory developed by clayton alderfer.
- Explains victor vroom's expectancy theory, which suggests people are motivated by two things: how much they want something, and how likely they think they are to get it.
- Explains that motivational theories can be divided into two groups: external rewards and enforcements and internal factors. maslow's hierarchy of needs theory illustrates employee needs beyond a paycheck.
- Explains that human resource management experts believe adequate base pay is essential to retaining employees and basic staff motivation, but it doesn't motivate in the long term.
- Analyzes how solange de santis' story refutes the stereotypical view of factory workers. they were dedicated, hard-working, highly skilled, and creative, but were locked in a tight battle between management and unions.
- Explains how american airlines discovered what can happen when they allowed production workers some creativity. they rigged up old machine parts and built "thumping ralph", a drill-bit sharpener.
- Explains that the brazilian company semco has a large proportion of blue collar workers. they give their workers an unusually large degree of freedom and responsibility, including letting them plan production, set their own work hours, and choose the sites and designs for the factories.
- Explains that employee motivation is not an absolute science and no single motivational theory will work for all employees.
- Cites bizhelp24's article, "the art of motivating salespeople." the article is available at www.johnboe.com.
- Describes compensation today's different types of motivation theories, citing kinicki, williams, and kjeralf.
1748 wordsRead More - Theories of Motivationanalytical essayTheories of Motivation According to Greenberg (1999) motivation is defined "as a process of arousing, directing and maintaining behaviour towards a goal. " Where directing' refers to the selection of a particular behaviour; and maintenance' refers to the inclination to behave with consistency in that manner until the desired outcome is met. Motivation is therefore the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximising an employee's motivation is necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organisation's objectives and targets.
In this essay, the author
- Cites benabou, r., and tirole, j. (2003), intrinsic and extrinesic motivation', in the review of economic studies.
- Explains that motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs.
- Explains mullins' classification of motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic types.
- Evaluates motivational theories in light of 's previous experiences, but they may not be perfect for every situation.
1158 wordsRead More - The Workforcement Theory: Different Types Of Motivationexplanatory essayGhillyer (2011, p. 228) stated the importance of motivation is a factor that influences employee performance on the basis of their usage of their full abilities. Management professor Robert N. In this visualization, managers tend to put employee satisfaction as the basis of organizing strategies to improve employee motivation and compensation. This normally results to higher performance and less problems. Hence, following this issue as a base, more motivational theories have been introduced.
In this essay, the author
- Explains ghillyer's definition of motivation as a factor that influences employee performance on the basis of their full abilities.
- Explains the hierarchy of needs theory, which states the condition in which individuals are motivated as they are in need to satisfy their needs.
- Explains that safety needs include security, protection, health, employment, property, family, and social stability. commonwealth bank of australia has established enable network to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
- Explains how social needs are met by accentuating team goals, such as team volunteering days and the global corporate challenge. the commonwealth bank supports diversity positively and affirms gender equality.
- Explains that self-esteem needs visualize the desire of confidence, achievement, recognition, success, strength, and intelligence. delegation helps develop leadership by giving chances for staff to share the responsibility of running a business.
- Explains that self-actualization consists of self fulfillment, accomplishment, creativity, experience purpose, and morality. the exchange of knowledge could accomplish benefits for leaders and workers as they assemble and lead the team.
- Explains that the reinforcement theory focuses on external environmental consequences on behaviour. commonwealth does not display these methods in their employee management.
- Explains that positive reinforcement encourages rewards for effective performance. the commonwealth bank of australia rewards staff and employees on their employee management planning.
- Explains that extinction does not provide positive consequences at a standard point to eliminate undesirable behavior. commonwealth bank provides special benefits in regards of salary sacrifice advantages which can only be reached when they are eligible.
- Explains the two-factor theory, or motivation-maintenance approach, by frederick herzberg, which differentiates the cause of high and low motivation by two major categories. rana peries, head of it innovation and digital financial services asia, has developed international experiences and networking through transfer to china from the company.
- Analyzes how the commonwealth bank of australia aims to gain true motivation by job enrichment programs while keeping proper attention to maintenance factor.
- Refers to commonwealth bank of australia 2015, management now, mcgraw-hill education, london, green, cd 2000, ‘a theory of human motivation’, viewed 20 december 2014.
- Explains rao, gvs, ‘theoretical and empirical considerations of the two-factor theory of job satisfaction’, indian journal of industrial relations.
- Explains the impact of positive reinforcement on employees’ performance in organizations, american journal of industrial and business management, vol. 4, no. 1, pp.
1595 wordsRead More - Motivation And Motivation Theoryargumentative essayProblem Statement Does motivational leadership need theories have an effect on employee performance? Employee motivation is a significant element on employee performance to the success of public, private, and government establishments. Lack of motivation in the daily operations of any organization will hinder their goals. Followers are motivated for different reason to perform within an occupation satisfy his or her desire of monetary and non-monetary necessities.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that employee motivation is a significant element on employee performance to the success of public, private, and government establishments. lack of motivation in the daily operations of any organization will hinder their goals.
- Explains the purpose of the mini proposal, which is to provide a quantitative survey study to test the theory of motivational leadership specifically need theories.
- Explains how motivational and leadership theories are used in private, public, and government organizations. pinder (2008) asserts that some writers view motivation from a strictly physiological perspective, while others view human beings as primary hedonistic.
- Opines that maslow's hierarchical theory of human motivation is the most paradoxical of all the current approaches to work motivation.
- Analyzes how mcclelland's need for achievement theory inspires maslow’s self-actualization needs. the need theory consists of three motivational factors within an employee.
- Explains that self-determination theory (sdt), founded by edward deci and richard ryan, asserts an individual has three human psychological needs with the feeling of:
- Explains how deci and ryan's needs theories are in correspondence to maslow’s hierarchy needs where employees follow with first autonomy, competence, and lastly relatedness.
- Explains that mcgregor presented assumptions that leadership viewed employees to be categorized under theory x or theory
- Recommends that the mini-proposal include salary, hourly pay, bonuses, compensation package, promotion, and job security.
- Analyzes how a survey of costco retail warehouses could suggest that motivational leadership needs have an effect on employee performance.
- Explains that motivation starts at the lowest level in the hierarchy, and resumes in filling those needs in each higher level. safety needs are categorized with safe working conditions and job security.
- Recommends using a survey to examine the effects of motivation on employee’s performance.
1520 wordsRead More - Improving Self-Motivation in Employeescomparative essayOrganizational researchers see employee motivation as a fundamental building block in the development of successful businesses. A motivated workforce represents both a competitive advantage as well as a strategic asset in the current corporate world, which is why the issue of building self-motivation in employees has sparked interest in managers. It not only improves the business side of the organization, but does so by keeping employees’ needs met, which improves their well-being. First, the issue of employees’ motivation will be addressed. Second, the motivational theory that best applies to this issue will be described and assessed. Next, there are some research-supported solutions for the three main needs focused on in the theory. Lastly, recommendations for changes in the workplace are suggested for managers.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that organizational researchers see employee motivation as a fundamental building block in the development of successful businesses.
- Explains that employees in the workplace sometimes lose their motivation to continue striving for success and setting higher goals for themselves. the problem with this approach to management is that it is not possible to motivate another person.
- Explains the self-determination theory, which focuses on the nature of motivation and the why of behavior.
- Explains research-supported solutions for the three focus needs of the self-determination theory that could provide a work environment in which employees could improve in the area of self-motivation.
- Recommends creating a relatedness-supportive environment that encourages self-motivation in employees. this is fundamental to both mental and physical well-being.
- Explains how an intervention-based experiment designed to support the autonomy of 25 fortune 500 managers showed a significantly more autonomy-supportive managerial style than those in the controlled group.
- Explains that after a careful review of all of the research gathered on the issue of improving employee self-determination, they have used the solutions above to provide several recommendations to management leaders.
- Recommends that managers incorporate a training program into their managerial hiring process to encourage self-motivation in their employees by supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs in the workplace.
- Recommends that managers stop attempting to motivate their employees extrinsically, stating that true motivation must be self-motivation. if managers take time to make meaningful and beneficial changes in their management style, more success will come from employees’ intrinsic motivation.
- Explains chiang, c.-f., and jang, s. an expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation. international journal of hospitality management, 27(2), 313-322.
- Explains that hope, self-efficacy, spiritual well-being, and job satisfaction are cited in the journal of advanced nursing.
- Explains that hardre, p. l., and others conducted an intervention study to train corporate managers to adopt a more autonomy-supportive motivating style toward employees.
- Explains the moderating effect of collectivistic orientation in psychological empowerment and job satisfaction relationship.
- Explains kuvaas' test of hypotheses derived from self-determination theory among public sector employees.
- Cites milyavskaya, koestner, and kostner in psychological needs, motivation and well-being: a test of self-determination theory across multiple domains.
- Explains that an autonomy-supportive workplace promotes volunteering and other pro-social behaviors and predicts lower workplace deviant behaviors.
- Explains the third target from the self-motivation theory in creating an environment that encourages self-motivation in employees is that of fulfilling the need for competence in the workplace.
- Explains that increasing or decreasing interests in activities: the role of regulatory fit.
- Explains the self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.
2012 wordsRead More - Reflection Paper On Personal Learningexplanatory essayMotivation, as defined in class, is the energy and commitment a person is prepared to dedicate to a task. In most of organisations, motivation is one of the most troublesome problems. Motivation is about the intensity, direction and persistence of reaching a goal. During the class, we have learned a substantial theories of motivation and many theories of motivations are used in real business. Each theory seems to have different basic values. But, they all have been analysed for one reason, recognising what motivates and increases the performance of employees. Ident...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ashley hughes' course, organizational behavior, focused on studying the impact of individuals, groups, and structures on behavior within an organization and how their behaviour affect the performance of the organizations.
- Explains how cialdini's six principles of persuasion are useful in real life, explaining tricks of influencing others.
- Explains that the way we act, think, and communicate should consult the theory of social proof. they recommend building a personal relationship with clients by sharing their common preference.
- Explains that a successful company should have logical reward systems, reasonable job designs that highly motivate its employees, expect staff members to manage themselves and transform its controlling leadership into empowering leadership.
- Explains that people from different cultures may have different opinions towards empowering leadership.
- Explains the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement on employee creativity.
- Explains that motivation is about the intensity, direction, and persistence of reaching a goal.
- Explains the four drive theory, which describes human motivation as a set of dynamic, interacting needs that are written in our gene.
- Explains that communication is essential for effective functioning in every part of an organization. the ability to communicate effectively ranks as the most important skill for new hires.
- Opines that face-to-face networking is more effective than phone calls and emails. respect is earned by hard-work, ability and communication.
- Explains that empowering leadership is the process of implementing conditions that enable sharing power with employees by delineating the significance of the job, providing greater decision-making autonomy, expressing confidence in the employee’s capabilities.
- Opines that empowering leadership requires finding the balance between control and freedom.
2945 wordsRead More - According to Jerald Greenberg (1999) scientist have defined motivations “as the process of arousing, directing and maintaining behavior towards a goal”. The act of arousing is related to the desire and vigor to produce. Directing is the election of behavior, and maintenance is the inclination to behave a certain manner until the desired outcome is met (Greenberg 1999). Much of the motivation theories will be related to the definition provided. All major motivation theory along with the method to successfully motivate your employees will be introduced. The theory and method that a manager may choose to use will depend on the environment and on the individual. There are two types of motivation theories content and process. The Content theories are based on the basic need and drives. The other theories focus on the process by which people are motivated (Auth, 1999).
In this essay, the author
- Explains content theories of motivation focus on (1) the needs, motives or desires that drive pressure and forces employees to action and (2) employees' relationships to the incentive that lead, induce, pull and persuade them to perform.
- Explains that douglass mcgregor developed two theories that examine the behavior of individuals at work. theory x assumes that people are lazy and have to be coerced to work, while theory y describes individual behavior differently.
- Explains that frederick herzberg contributed to human relations and motivation in terms of organization development, two concepts of motivation: motivators and maintenance factors.
- Explains mcclelland's primary motives theory, which states that all human beings have three primary motivations: the need for achievement, affiliation, and power.
- Explains that previous theories focus on the need that drives or incites behavior and induce behavior. the process theories deal with approaches that can aid a manager to motivate employees.
- Explains that equity theory focuses on to two sides: the outcome and the input. if the employee perceives inequality, she/he will act to correct the inequity.
- Explains victor vroom's expectancy theory, which focuses on the process by which people are motivated and not by the content of the specific needs or goal.
- Explains that goal setting theory is the specification of goal to increase performance.
- Explains the content and process theories of motivation dealing with organizational and individual behavior. all the theories conclude that managers perceive their organizations and their employees affect their productivity.
- Explains the importance of collaboration and empowerment in motivating employees.
- Explains that motivation is difficult to explain and practice, but it is still the one thing that makes people productive in their jobs.
- Describes george elton mayo's experiments on human behavior at the hawthorne works of the general electric company in chicago between 1924 and 1927.
- Explains abraham h. maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is a content motivational theory based on human behavior.
- Explains that dr. likert has identified four management styles that he feels should be a part of management style in an organization.
- Explains that empowering staff ensures that they follow some basic principals, such as setting standards of excellence, providing feedback on performance, and treating them with dignity and respect. motivation must be used wisely.
- Explains that 70% of employees are less motivated while 50% only put enough effort into their work to keep their job. the best way to find what motivates your staff is to ask them directly.
3259 wordsRead More - Motivation, Organizational Behavior and Performanceexplanatory essayResearch has shown that motivation in an employee is an important factor which determines his performance. Motivation is the “driving force within individuals” (Mullins, 2007, p. 285). It is the concerned with finding out the reasons which shape and direct the behaviour of the individuals. The people act to achieve something so that they can satisfy some needs (Gitman and Daniel, 2008). It is important for the manager to understand this motivation of individual employees in order to inspire them and devise an appropriate set of incentives and rewards which would satisfy the needs that they have individually (Kerr, 2003). Once these needs are expected to be met in return for some specific behaviour or action, they would work more diligently to have that behaviour in them and to achieve that objective (Meyer and Hersovitch, 2001). Since it would lead to early and fuller achievement of the company objectives as the individual would work more diligently, it would lead to better organizational performance (Wiley, 1997).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that motivation is critical for understanding and improvement in organizational behaviour and performance. it is an important tool which managers can use to get more out of their employees.
- Explains that motivation in an employee is an important factor which determines his performance. it is concerned with finding out the reasons which shape and direct the behaviour of the individuals.
- Explains that it is important for managers to understand what motivates individuals. extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation are two types of motivation theories.
- Opines that motivation is a very important concept for managers to understand. understanding what ticks an individual helps in developing the right incentive structure.
525 wordsRead More - Motivation in the Workplaceexplanatory essayAll employees analyze their environment and strive to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication they put into the company, in a word they are seeking justice. Justice can be defined as a person receiving what they feel they are entitled to and if they do not receive what they deserve the situation may board on injustice. Unfortunately in today’s society justice and appreciation are not given out to all those deserving (Pinder, 1998). A major problem to address is how to keep the motivation level high in a company when the employees do not feel appreciated.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that employees analyze their environment and strive to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication. justice can be defined as a person receiving what they feel they are entitled to.
- Explains the equity theory and how managers can use this to motivate employees by awarding their hard work.
- Explains that people can make exceptions to the "input-to-output" ratio if they feel that the referent is deserving of higher inputs. the challenge to this formula is that everyone has a different viewpoint on the same situation.
- Explains that employees analyze their environment and strive to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication, in a word they seek justice.
- Opines that a manager's responsibility is to balance the constant chaos that is tied to the matter of justice within the workplace.
- Explains the reinforcement theory, which goes into detail about the consequences that follow an action within the workplace.
- Explains how the job is designed, what it entails, and how specialized is the position. rotation is most likely to appeal to people who do not want the same routine day after day.
- Explains that goal setting is an important tool for managers because it motivates employees to achieve their goals. however, goals can also have a downside.
- Explains that every employee is placed in various circumstances that will influence their motivation. self-appraisal evaluations help employers assess what are some positives and negatives of meetings.
- Cites carpenter, bauer, erodogan, & short, j. principles of management.
1182 wordsRead More - Motivation in the Workplaceexplanatory essayFor this assignment, I am going to describe and discuss several motivation theories. Then I will compare and contrast different aspects of the theories to each other and discuss how the different theories relate to my workplace.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that alderfer's existence, relatedness, and growth (erg) theory is very similar to maslow’s hierarchy but there are several significant differences.
- Explains adam's equity theory, which looks at the needs of the employee and their perception on how they are being treated in relation to others.
- Explains vroom's expectancy theory, which deals with an employee’s expected returns or rewards for performing a certain action, instrumentality, and valence.
- Explains that learning theories deal with employees linking their inputs or performance to the output or rewards they receive.
- Explains how bandura created the social learning theory to explain how people learn certain behaviors from observing other people performing the same behaviors.
- Explains that theory x and y were created by douglas mcgregor to describe assumptions and behaviors about employees.
- Explains ramlall's review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organizations.
- Explains that motivation is giving employees a reason to perform something. they will compare and contrast different aspects of the theories to each other and discuss how they relate to their workplace.
- Explains herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory and mcclelland’s need theory.
- Explains jones, gareth r., and george, jennifer m. (2011). contemporary management.
2207 wordsRead More