Employees Motivation UHS 2062 LECTURES at UTM Skudai. Prepared by Siti Rokiah Siwok srsiwok@gmail.com

Motivation and Work IO psychologists generally define work motivation as the internal force that drives a worker to action , as well as the external factors that encourage the actions (Locke & Latham, 2002 in Aamodt, 2007). Ability and skill determine the employee can do the job. Motivation determines whether the employee will do the job properly. Generally psychologist agree that increased employee motivation results in increased job performance.

Theory X and Theory Y In his 1960 book, The Human Side of Enterprise, Douglas McGregor proposed two theories by which to view employee motivation. He avoided descriptive labels and simply called the theories Theory X and Theory Y.

Theory X People cannot be trusted, they are irrational , unreliable and inherently lazy. Therefore people need to be controlled and motivated using financial incentives, threats and punishment. In the absence of such controls, people will pursue their own goals , which will be in conflict with those of their work organisation.

Theory Y People seek independence, self-development and creativity in their work. People can see further than their immediate circumstances and are able to adapt to new ones. They are moral and responsible beings, who, if treated as such, will strive for good of their organisation.

Needs, values and wants Work motivation and job satisfaction are also determined by the discrepancy between what we want, value and expect, and what actually the job provides. Three theories focus on employees’ needs and values: Maslow’s needs hierarchy, ERG theory and two-factor theory.

Needs Theories Need theories are based on the idea that there are psychological needs, that lie behind human behaviour. When our needs are unmet we experience tension or disequilibrium which we try to put right; which means we behave in ways that satisfy our needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Hierarchical , meaning that the lower-level needs have to be satisfied before one is concerned with the next level (like the staircase). Each level is taken a step at a time and thus the higher level need cannot be reached until the lower- level need is satisfied

Humanistic perspective The humanistic perspective emphasis free will , the ability to make choices and come to decisions in their lives (Feldman, 2006). Carl Rogers, a major proponent of the humanistic perspective, suggests that all people have a need for positive regard, results from the underlying need to be loved and respect. Maslow suggest s that self actualization is the primary goal in life. Self actualization is a state of self fulfillment in which people achieve their highest potential in their own unique way (Feldman, 2006).

Evaluation of Maslow’s Theory “Maslow’ theory is popular and stood the test of time, but not very much supported by research. The biggest “problem” with regards to the levels. …need there be five? Or two or three enough? There are people who skip levels . What about overlapping of levels?

ERG Theory To address the limitation of Maslow’s Theory, , Clayton Alderfer proposed the ERG theory, which like Maslow's theory, describes needs as a hierarchy. The letters ERG stand for three levels of needs: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. The ERG theory is based on the work of Maslow, so it has much in common with it but also differs in some important aspects. Other research supports the number of levels as proposed by Alderfer.

ERG Theory According to this theory, people can skip levels. ERG theory also explains why a higher-level need sometimes do not become more important once a lower-level need has been satisfied. There are other factors. Overlapping of levels has been addressed by reducing the number of levels to three

Two-factor theory Two-factor theory was proposed by Herzberg (1966), in which job related factors are divided into two categories: hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors are those job-related elements that related from, but not involving the job itself. Examples : pay and benefits making friends (These are results of the work, but do not involve the work itself)

Two-factor theory Motivators are the job elements that concern the actual task and duties. For employees to have motivation and satisfaction, both hygiene factors and motivators must be present. This theory make sense but has not receive research support. The theory is being criticised because of the methods to develop the two factors

Two-factor theory Hygiene factors Motivators Pay Security Co workers Working conditions Company policy Work schedule Supervisors Responsibilities Growth Challenge Stimulation Independence Variety control

Comparison of Theories Maslow ERG Herzberg Self -actualization Growth Motivators Self-esteem Belonging and love (social) Relatedness Hygiene factors Safety Existence Physiological needs

References: Aamodt, M.G (2007). Industrial /organizational psychology. An applied approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson Arnold, J ( 2005). Work Psychology. Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (4th ed). England : Pearson Education Ltd. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/ Feldman, R. S. (2006) Development across the lifespan. (4th ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education.