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Chapter 7

MOTIVATING

Productivity has always been a serious concern of the management of firms. If it improves, it
means greater chances for the company to grow and be more stable. One reason why the
Philippine economy cannot move steadily forward is our record of low productivity for so many
years.

Higher productivity, however is not a result of chance. It happens because of the harder, more
efficient, and more intelligent work made by the employees. To be willing partners, however, the
requirement is for them to be properly motivated. An example is the management of a
construction firm wanting its employees to finish projects on time, with the quality required at
the least cost. To achieve this, various methods of motivation may be applied.

When the cost of other factors of production is seriously affecting the viability of the firm, the
remaining factor (i.e., labor) may save the company from financial difficulties. However, this will
depend whether or not labor will be motivated to perform their assigned task.

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

Motivating refers to the act of “giving employees reasons or incentives… to work to achieve
organizational objectives.” Motivation, on the other hand, refers to the “process of activating
behavior, sustaining it, and directing it toward a particular goal.” This definition is useful because
it specifies three stages: activating, sustaining, and directing actions towards the achievement of
objectives.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MOTIVATION

The following are influencing factors to a person’s desire to do his job well.
1. Willingness to do a job. People who like what they are doing are highly motivated to
produce the expected output.
2. Self-confidence in carrying out a task. When employees feel that they have the required
skill and training to perform a task, the more motivated they become.
3. Needs satisfaction. People will do their jobs well if they feel that by doing so, their needs
will be satisfied.

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

The following are the most influencing theories:

1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
2. Herzberg’s two-factor theory
3. Expectancy theory
4. Goal setting theory

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, theorized that human beings have five basic needs which are:
physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization. These needs are hierarchical, which
means, one need will have to be satisfied first before the other need.
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Physiological Needs. Those that are concerned with the biological needs like food, drink, rest, and
sex falls under this category. These needs take priority over the other needs.
Security Needs. After satisfying the physiological needs, people will seek to satisfy their safety
needs, these needs include freedom from harm coming from the elements or from other people,
financial security which may be affected by loss of job or breadwinner in the family, etc.

Social Needs. After satisfying his physiological and security needs, the employee will now strive
to secure love, affection, and the need to be accepted by peers.

Esteem Needs. The fourth level of needs is called esteem needs and they refer to the need for a
positive self-image and self-respect and the need to be respected by others.

Self-Actualization Needs. The fifth and the topmost level needs in the hierarchy are called self-
actualization needs and involve realizing our full potential as human beings and becoming al that
we are able to be.

Relevance of Maslow’s to Engineering Management. Even if Maslow’s theory has been

largely questioned, one basic premise cannot be discarded: a fulfilled need no longer motivates
an individual. If this is the situation the subordinate is in, the manager must identify an unfilled
need and work out a scheme so that the subordinate will be motivated to work in order to satisfy
the unfulfilled need.

Figure 7.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS
Self-fulfillment

ESTEEM NEEDS
Status, Respect, Prestige

SOCIAL NEEDS
Friendship, belongingness, love

SECURITY NEEDS
Freedom from harm, financial security

PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS
Food, water, sleep, sex, body elimination

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

The two-factor theory is the one developed by Frederick Hertzberg indicating that a satisfied
employee is motivated from within to work harder and that a dissatisfied employee is not self-
motivated.

Herzberg identified two classes of factors associated with employee satisfaction and
dissatisfaction. In his research, Herzberg found out that satisfied employees mentioned the
following factors( called satisfiers or motivation factors) responsible for job satisfaction:
achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. Dissatisfied
employees mentioned the following factors (called dissatisfiers or hygiene factors) as responsible
for job dissatisfaction: company policy and administration, supervision, relationship with peers,
personal life, and relationship with subordinates, status, and security.
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If Herzberg’s theory will be considered by the manager in motivating employees, he must do

something to eliminate the dissatisfiers and install satisfiers.

Expectancy theory

Expectancy theory is a motivation model based on the assumption that an individual will work
depending on his perception of the probability on his expectations to happen.

The theory poses the idea that motivation is determined by expectancies and valences.
Expectancy is a belief about the likelihood or probability that a particular behavioral act(like
attending training sessions) will lead to a particular outcome (like promotion). Valence is the
value an individual places on the expected outcomes or rewards.

Expectancy theory is based on the following assumptions:

1. A combination of forces within the individual and in the environment determines
behavior.
2. People make decisions about their own behavior and that of organizations.
3. People have different types of needs, goals, and desires.
4. People make choices among the alternative behaviors based on the extent to which, they
think a certain behavior will lead to a desired outcome.

Goal Setting Theory

Goal setting refers to the process of “improving performance with objectives, deadlines or quality
standard.” When individuals or groups are assigned specific goals, a clear direction is provided
and which later motivates them to achieve these goals.

The goal setting model drawn by Edwin A. Locks and his associates consists of the following
components:
1. goal content
2. goal commitment
3. work behavior
4. feedback aspects

Goal Content. To be sufficient in content, goals must be challenging, attainable, specific and
measurable, time-bound, and relevant.

When goals are challenging, higher performance be expected. The sales quotas imposed by
companies to individual members of their sales force indicate reliance of these companies to the
use of challenging goals.

Goals must be attainable if they are to be set. If they are not, then workers will only be
discouraged to perform, if at all.

Goals must be stated in quantitative terms whenever possible. When exact figures to be met are
set, understanding is facilitated and workers are motivated to perform.

There must be time-limit set for goals to be accomplished.

The more relevant the goals are to the company’s mission. The more support it can generate
from various levels of employment in the organization.
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Goal Commitment. When individuals or groups are committed to the goals they are supposed to
achieve, there is a chance that they will be able to achieve them.

Work behavior. Goals influence behavior in terms of direction, effort, persistence, and planning.
When an individual is provided with direction, performance is facilitated. In trying to attain goals
that are already indicated, the individual is provided with a direction to exert more effort. The
identification of goals provides a reason for an individual to persist in his efforts until the goal is
attained.

Once goals are set, the first important input to planning is already in place.

Feedback aspects. Feedback provides the individuals with a way of knowing how far they have
gone in achieving objectives. Feedback also facilitates the introduction of corrective measures
whenever they are found to be necessary.

Figure 7.1 The Process of Motivation

plus
NEEDS MOTIVATION

which leads to leads

readiness for to
next need

NEED ACTION OR
SATISFACTION GOAL-DIRECTED
which BEHAVIOR
results
to

TECHNIQUES OF MOTIVATION

Individual or groups of individuals may be motivated to perform through the use of various
techniques. These techniques may be classified as follows:
1. motivation through job design
2. motivation through rewards
3. motivation through employee participation
4. other motivation techniques for the diverse work force

Motivation Through Job Design

A person will be highly motivated to perform if he is assigned a job he likes. The first requisite,
however, is to design jobs that will meet the requirements of the organization and the persons
who will occupy them. Job design may be defined as “specifying the tasks that constitute a job
for an individual or a group.”

In motivating through the use of job design, two approaches may be used: fitting people too jobs
or fitting jobs to people.

Fitting People to Jobs. Routine and repetitive tasks make worker suffer from chronic
dissatisfaction. To avoid this, the following remedies may be adapted:
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1. Realistic job previews – where management provides honest explanations of what a job
entails.
2. Job rotation – where people are moved periodically from one specialized job to another.
3. Limited exposure – where a worker’s exposure to a highly fragmented and tedious job is
limited.

Fitting Jobs to People. Instead of changing the person, management may consider changing the
job. This may be achieved with the use of the following:
1. Job enlargement – where two or more specialized tasks in a work flow sequence is
combined into a single job.
2. Job enrichment – where efforts are made to make jobs more interesting, challenging,
and rewarding.

Motivating Through Rewards

Rewards consist of material and psychological benefits to employees for performing tasks in the
workplace. Properly administered reward systems can improve job performances and satisfaction.

Categories of Rewards
1. Extrinsic – those that refer to payoffs granted to the individual by another party.
Examples are money, employee Intrinsic benefits, promotions, recognition, status
symbols, praise, etc.
2. Intrinsic – those which are internally experienced payoffs which are self-granted.
Examples as a sense of accomplishment, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards coincide with needs spelled out the beginning of the chapter.

Management of Extrinsic Rewards. To motivate job performance effectively, extrinsic rewards

must be properly managed in line with the following:
1. it must satisfy individual needs;
2. the employees must believe effort will lead to reward;
3. rewards must be equitable;
4. rewards must be linked to performance

No single type of reward is generally applicable to all employees. This is so because individual
persons have needs different from other persons. As much as possible the particular needs of an
individual must be matched with the corresponding reward of motivation is the objective. The
administrative constraints inherent to such systems, however, will be a hindrance to its adoption.
Whenever feasible, however, it must be used.

Employees must believe that efforts will lead to reward. Otherwise, they will not strive to turn in
more efforts in their particular job assignments.

Rewards that are not equitable will not produce the desired motivation.

When employees know that reward is tied up to individual performance, management may
expect extra efforts from them. A negative example is the practice in some government offices
where every employee, regardless of performance, is given a productivity bonus. As a result, the
majority is not motivated to exert extra efforts.
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Motivation through Employee Participation

When employees participate in deciding various aspects of their jobs, the personal involvement,
oftentimes, is carried up to a point where the task is completed.

The specific activities identified where employees may participate are:

1. Setting goals
2. Making decisions
3. Solving problems
4. designing and implementing organizational changes

The more popular approaches to participation include the following:

1. quality control circles
2. self-managed teams

Quality Control Circles. A method of direct employee participation is the quality control circle
(QCC). The objective of the QCC is to increase productivity and quality of output.

The circle consists of “a group of three to ten employees usually doing related work, who meet at
regular intervals to identify problems and discuss their solutions.” The circle includes “ a leader
such as a foremen, but rely on democratic processes.” The members are trained in various
analysis techniques by the coordinator.

The circle forwards its recommendations to management, which in turn, makes decision on its
adoption.

Self-managed teams. When workers have reached a certain degree of discipline, they may be
ripe for forming self-managed teams. Also known as autonomous work groups or high
performance teams, self-managed teams “take on traditional managerial tasks as part of their
normal work routine.”

The self-managed teams work on their own, turning out a complete product or service and
receiving minimal supervision from managers who act more as facilitators than supervisors.

When a product or a service is produced by a group of professionals or specialists, they might as

well be formed as a self-managed team to save on supervisory costs.

Requisites to Succeed Employee Participation Program

1. A profit-sharing or gains haring plan

2. A long term employment relationship with good job security
3. A concerted effort to build and maintain group cohesiveness
4. Protection of the individual employee’s rights

Other Motivation Techniques

The advent of theories on individual differences and the biological clock of human beings put
pressure on the manger to adapt other motivation techniques whenever applicable.
1. Flexible work schedules
2. Family support services
3. Sabbaticals
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Flexible Work Schedules. There is an arrangement, called flextime, which allows employees to
determine their own arrival and departure times within specified limits.

There are certain benefits that are offered by the flexible work schedules, although this is not
applicable for all situations.

Family Support Services. Employees are oftentimes burdened by family obligations like caring for
children. Progressive companies provide day care facilities for children of employees.

Sabbaticals. A sabbatical leave is one given to an employee after a certain number of years of
service. The employee is allowed to go on leave for two months to one year with pay to give him
for family, recreations, and travel.
It is expected that when the employee returns for work, his motivation is improved.

The Quality Control Process

Quality circle members Quality circle members

brainstorm, gather data, prepare solutions and
and establish cause recommendations
and effect

Results are measured Management

and feedback, recognition considers quality circle
and rewards given to recommendations
quality control circle and makes
members. decisions.