MOTIVATION:Extrinsic motive, Theories of work motivation, Safety needs

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

LESSON 20

MOTIVATION

Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals,

conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual needs. The key elements can be seen in

this definition: effort, organizational goals and need. The effort element is the measure of intensity

or drive.

When someone is motivated, he or she tries hard. But high levels of effort are unlikely to lead to

favourable job performance outcomes unless the effort is channelled in a direction that benefits

the organization. Therefore, the quality of the effort must be considered as well as its intensity.

Effort that is directed towards, and is consistent with, organization's goals is the kind of effort

managers should be seeking. Finally, motivation is created as a need-satisfying process.

A need refers to some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied

need creates tension that stimulates drives within an individual. These drives generate a search

behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and reduce the tension.

It can be said that motivated employees are in a state of tension. To relieve this tension, they exert

effort. The greater the tension, the higher the effort level. If this effort leads to the satisfaction of

the need, it reduces tension. Since the focus here is on work behaviour, this tension reduction

effort must also be directed towards organizational goals. Therefore, inherent in the definition of

motivation is the requirement that the individual's needs be compatible and consistent with the

organization's goals.

Motivating high levels of employee performance is such an important consideration that academic

researchers and practicing managers have been trying to understand and explain employee

motivation for years.

Extrinsic motive

Extrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated by external factors, as opposed to the internal

drivers of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation drives people to do things for tangible rewards

or pressures, rather than for the fun of it.

Intrinsic motive

Intrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated by internal factors, as opposed to the external

drivers of extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation drives people to do things just for the fun of it,

or because they believe it is a good or right thing to do.

There is a paradox of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is far stronger a

motivator than extrinsic motivation, yet external motivation can easily act to displace intrinsic

motivation.

Primary Motives

Primary Motives are unlearned motives which may be biological or physiological motives. These

include motives such as: Hunger, thirst, sex, need for sleep etc., curiosity, manipulation, activity.

Secondary Motives

Secondary Motives are learned motives which a person is not born with for example the need for

power, the need for achievement etc.

Theories of work motivation

Maslow's Theory

The best known theory of motivation is probably Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.

Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who proposed that within every person is a hierarchy of

five needs:

Physical needs

Food, drink, shelter, sexual satisfaction and other physical requirements

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Safety needs

Security and protection from physical and emotional harm as well as assurance that physical needs

will continue to be met.

Need for love

Affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship.

Esteem needs

Internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement, and external esteem

factors such as status, recognition and attention.

Self-actualization

Growth, achieving one's potential and self-fulfilment; the drive to become what one is capable of

becoming.

In terms of motivation, Maslow argued that each level in the hierarchy must be substantially

satisfied before the next is activated, and that once a need is substantially satisfied, the next need

becomes dominant. In terms of the figure given below, the individual moves up the needs

hierarchy. If you want to motivate someone, according to Maslow, you need to understand what

level that person is on in the hierarchy and focus on satisfying needs at or above that level.

Managers who accepted Maslow's hierarchy attempted to change their organizations and

management practices so that employees' needs could be satisfied.

In addition, Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower levels. Physiological and safety

needs were described as lower-order and social, esteem and self-actualization needs were described

as higher-order needs. The difference between the two levels was made on the premise that higher-

order needs are satisfied internally, while lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied externally.

In fact, the natural conclusion from Maslow's classification is that, in times of economic

prosperity, almost all permanently employed workers have their lower-order needs substantially

met.

Maslow's needs theory received world wide recognition, particularly among practising managers

during the 1960s and 1970s. This recognition can be attributed to the theory's intuitive logic and

ease of understanding.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory

Fredrick Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory proposes that intrinsic factors are related to job

satisfaction and motivation, whereas extrinsic factors are associated with job dissatisfaction.

Believing that in individual's relation to his or her work is a basic one and that his or her attitude

towards work determines success or failure, Herzberg investigated the question `What do people

want from their jobs?' He asked people for detailed descriptions of situation in which they felt

exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. Their responses were then tabulated and categorized.

Analysing the responses, Herzberg concluded that the replies people gave when they felt good

about their jobs were significantly different from the replies given when they felt bad. Certain

characteristics were consistently related to job satisfaction, and other to job dissatisfaction.

Intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition and responsibility were related to job

satisfaction. When the people questioned felt good about their work, they tend to attributed these

characteristics to themselves. On the other hand, when they were dissatisfied, they tended to cite

extrinsic factors such as company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal

relationships and working conditions.

In addition, Herzberg believed that the data suggested that the opposite of satisfaction was not

dissatisfaction, as traditionally had been believed. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job

would not necessarily make the job satisfying (or motivating). Herzberg proposed that his findings

indicated the existence of a dual continuum: the opposite of `satisfaction' is `no satisfaction', and

the opposite of `dissatisfaction' is `no dissatisfaction'.

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

According to Herzberg, the factors that led to job satisfaction were separated and distinct from

those that led to job dissatisfaction. Therefore, mangers who sought to eliminate factors that

created job dissatisfaction could bring about workplace harmony but not necessarily motivation.

Because they do not motive employee, the extrinsic factors that create job dissatisfaction were

called hygiene factors. When these factors are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; however,

neither will they be satisfied (motivated). To motivate people in their jobs, Herzberg suggested

emphasizing on motivators, the intrinsic factors that increase job satisfaction.

Alderfer's ERG Theory

The ERG Theory of Clayton P. Alderfer is a model that appeared in 1969 in a Psychological

Review article entitled "An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Need". In a reaction to

Maslow's famous Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer distinguishes three categories of human needs that

influence worker's behaviour; existence, relatedness and growth.

These ERG Theory categories are:

Existence Needs: physiological and safety needs (such as hunger, thirst and sex) (Maslow's first

two levels)

Relatedness Needs: social and external esteem (involvement with family, friends, co-workers and

employers) (Maslow's third and fourth levels)

Growth Needs: internal esteem and self actualization (desires to be creative, productive and to

complete meaningful tasks) (Maslow's fourth and fifth levels)

Contrarily to Maslow's idea that to the higher levels of his pyramid required satisfaction in the

lower level needs, according to Alderfer the three ERG areas are not stepped in any way.

ERG Theory recognizes that the order of importance of the three Categories may vary for each

individual. Managers must recognize that an employee has multiple needs to satisfy simultaneously.

According to the ERG theory, focusing exclusively on one need at a time will not effectively

motivate.

In addition, the ERG theory acknowledges that if a higher level need remains unfulfilled, the

person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. This is know as frustration-

regression principle. This frustration-regression principle impacts workplace motivation. For

example if growth opportunities are not provided to employee's they may regress to relatedness

needs, and socialize more with co-workers.

REFERENCES

Motivation Theory: http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/theory_01.html

Fred Luthans tenth edition: Organizational behaviour McGraw-Hill/Irwin Publications 2005

NewYork

Foundations of Management: Stephen P. Robbins, Rolf Bergman, Ian Stagg, Mary Coulter

Prentice Hall Sydney Australia 2005

Employee Motivation, Richard T Froyen Prentice Hall: Sydney Australia 1999

FURTHER READING

Extrinsic Motivation: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/extrinsic_motivation.htm

Intrinsic Motivation: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/intrinsic_motivation.htm

Motivation

theories:

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/academic_references.htm#petri (1991)

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