Employees Motivation

1. Employees Motivation UHS 2062 LECTURES at UTM Skudai. Prepared by SitiRokiahSiwok, August 2009 srsiwok@gmail.com

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

9. 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

10. 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).

11. 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?

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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 criticisedbecause of the methods to develop the two factors

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

17. Comparison of Theories

18. 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 (4thed). 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. (4thed). New Jersey: Pearson Education.