Concept of motivation

In order to understand the concept of motivation, we have to examine three terms: motive,
motivating and motivation and their relationship.

1. Motive:
“a motive is an inner state that energises, activates, or moves and directs behaviour
towards goals.”

2. Motivating:
Motivating is a term which implies that one person includes another, to engage in action
by ensuring that a channel to satisfy the motive becomes available and accessible to the
individual.

3. Motivation:
 Dubin has defined motivation as: “motivation is the complex force starting and
keeping a person at work in an organisation. Motivation is something that moves the
person to action, and continues him in the course of action already initiated”
 According to McFarland: “motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives,
aspirations, strivings, or needs direct, control, or explain the behaviour of human
being.

Nature of motivation

1. Based on motives: motivation is based on individual’s motives which are internal to the
individual. These motives are in the form of feelings that the individual lacks something.
In order to overcome this feeling, he tries to behave in a manner which helps in overcom-
ing this feeling.

2. Affected by motivating: motivation is affected by way the individual is motivated. It can

also activate the latent needs in the individual, that is, the needs that are the less strong
and somewhat dormant and harness them in a manner that would be functional for the or-
ganisation.

3. Goal–directed behaviour: motivation leads to goal-directed behaviour. A goal-directed

behaviour is one which satisfies the cause for which behaviour takes place.

4. Related to satisfaction: satisfaction refers to the contentment experiences of an indi-

vidual which he derives out of need fulfilment. Thus, satisfaction is a consequence of re-
wards and punishments associated with past experiences.
5. Complex process: motivation is a complex process; complexity emerges because of the
nature of needs and the type of behaviour that is attempted to satisfy those needs.
6. Person motivated in totality: a person is motivated in totality and not in part. Each indi-
vidual in the organisation is a self-contained unit and his needs are interrelated. These af-
fect his behaviour in different ways.
 Types of needs

There are many needs which an individual may have and there are various ways in which
these may be classified. The basic objective behind classification of needs into different cat-
egories is to find out similarity and dissimilarity in various needs so that incentives are
grouped to satisfy the needs falling under one category or the other. Thus, needs may be
grouped into three categories:

1. Primary needs: primary needs are also known as psychological, biological, basic or
unlearned needs. These needs are common to all human beings, though their intensity
may differ. Some of the needs are food, sleep, air to breathe etc. These needs arise
out of the basic physiology of life and are important for survival and preservation of
species. These needs are conditioned by social practice.

2. secondary needs: as contrast to the primary needs, secondary needs are not natural
but are learned by the individual through his experience and interaction. Therefore,
these are also called learned or derived needs. Emergence of these needs depends on
learning. There may be different types of secondary needs like need of power,
achievement, status, affiliation, etc.

3. General needs: there are a number of needs which lie in the grey area between the
primary and secondary classifications. In fact, there are certain such needs for com-
petence, curiosity, manipulation, affection etc.

Motivation and behaviour

Motivation causes goal-directed behaviour. Feeling of a need by an individual generates a

feeling that he lacks something. This lack of something creates tension in the mind of
individual. To overcome this state, he engages himself in a behaviour to satisfy his needs.
This is goal-directed behaviour.

NEED TENTION GOAL- DIRECTED GOAL-FULFILMENT/

BEHAVIOUR NEED SATISFACTION

FAVOURABLE
ENVIRONMENT

Goal-directed behaviour leads to goal-fulfilment and the individual succeeds in fulfilling his
needs and thereby overcoming his tension in the favourable environment. Behaviour ends the
moment tension is released. However, satisfaction of one need leads to feeling of another
need. Thus goal-directed behaviour is a continuous process.
Factors affecting individual performance

MOTIVATION
EXTRINSIC
ABILITY RESOURCES

PERFORMANCE REWARD

SENSE OF ROLE PERCEPTION INTRINSIC

COMPETENCE

1. Motivation:
Level of motivation derives an individual for work. Motivation is based on motive which
is a feeling that an individual lacks something. This feeling creates some sort of tension in
his mind. In order to overcome this tension, he engages in goal-directed behaviour. Thus,
motivation becomes a prime mover for efforts and better work performance.

2. Sense of competence:
Sense of competence denotes the extent to which an individual consistently regards
himself as capable of doing a job. Sense of competence of an individual depends to a very
great extent on his locus of control. Locus of control means whether people believe that
they are in control of events or events control them.
3. Ability: ability is expressed in the form of the following equation:

ability = knowledge x skill

Knowledge refers to the possession of information and ideas in a particular field which
may be helpful in developing relationships among different variables related to that field.
Skill refers to expertness, practice ability or facility in action or doing something.

4. Role perception: a role is the pattern of actions expected of a person in activities

involving others. Role reflects a person’s position in the social system with its
accompanying rights and obligations. Role perception is how he thinks he is supposed to
act in his own role and how others act in their role. There are two types of problems
which emerge in role specification: role ambiguity and role conflict. Role ambiguity
denotes the state in which the individual is not clear what is expected from him in the job
situation. Role conflicts is the situation in which the individual engages in two or more
roles simultaneously and these roles are mutually incompatible.
5. Organisational resource: organisational resources denote various types of facilities
physical and psychological – which are available at the workplace physical facilities
include la – physical and psychological – which are available at the workplace. Physical
facilities include layout of the workplace and physical environment. Psychological
 facilities include training and development facilities, reward system, motivating
leadership styles and so on.
Role of motivation

Motivation is one among the various factors affecting individual performance. All
organisational facilities will go waste in the lack of motivated people to utilise the facilities
effectively. The importance of motivation in an organization may be summed up as follows :

1. High performance level: motivated employees put higher performance as compared to

other employees. In a study it was found that motivated people employees worked close
to 80-90 percent of their capability. High performance is a must for an organisation being
successful and this performance comes by motivation.

2. Low employee turnover: motivated employees stay in the organisation and their
absenteeism is quite low. High turnover and absenteeism create many problems in the
organisation.

3. Acceptance of organisational changes: organisations are created in the society. Because

of changes in society, organisation have to incorporate those changes to cope up with the
recruitment of the time. When these changes are introduced in the organisation, there is a
tendency to resist these changes by the employees. However, if they are properly
motivated, they accept, introduce, and implement these changes keeping the organisation
on the right track of progress.

Maslow need hierarchy theory

A well-known proponent of the content theory is Abraham Maslow who stated that there is a
set of fine needs and that these become drivers or motivators when a deficiency state arises.
These fine need in ascending order are as follows:

1. Physiological
2. Security
3. Social
4. Esteem
5. Self-actualisation

 Physiological needs: this includes the most basic needs for survival including food, wa-
ter, shelter, clothing and similar. When these needs have been fulfilled, we move onto the
next level.

 Security: this encompasses the need for safety and a feeling of security. People with a
high concern for this need may choose less risky public services jobs in preference to be-
ing a freelance consultant.

 Social: this covers our need for love, affection, belongings and sacrificing relationship
with family, friends, colloquies and more intimate contacts.
 Esteem: Maslow believed that people generally need to have a good evaluation of them-
selves, and they desire that others also value and respect them. He says that it is only from
having our needs for love basically met that we could aspire to working on this level of
need. The majority of people on level 3 and 4, having satisfied 1 and 2.

 Self-actualization: when a person has satisfied all four needs of the lower-level needs.
Maslow proposed that they could direct attention to the highest-level needs.

Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory

(two factor theory)

To better understand employee attitudes and motivation, Frederick Herzberg performed stud-
ies to determine which factors in an employee's work environment caused satisfaction or dis-
satisfaction. He published his findings in the 1959 book the motivation to work.

The studies included interviews in which employees where asked what pleased and dis-
pleased them about their work. Herzberg found that the factors causing job satisfaction (and
presumably motivation) were different from those causing job dissatisfaction. He developed
the motivation-hygiene theory to explain these results. He called the satisfiers motivators
and the dissatisfiers hygiene factors, using the term "hygiene" in the sense that they are con-
sidered maintenance factors that are necessary to avoid dissatisfaction but that by themselves
do not provide satisfaction.

The following table presents the top six factors causing dissatisfaction and the top six factors
causing satisfaction, listed in the order of higher to lower importance.

Factors affecting job attitudes

Leading to dissatisfaction    leading to satisfaction   

 Company policy  Achievement
 Supervision  Recognition
 Relationship w/boss  Work itself
 Work conditions  Responsibility
 Salary  Advancement
 Relationship w/peers  Growth

Herzberg reasoned that because the factors causing satisfaction are different from those caus-
ing dissatisfaction, the two feelings cannot simply be treated as opposites of one another. The
opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, but rather, no satisfaction. Similarly, the oppos-
ite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction.

While at first glance this distinction between the two opposites may sound like a play on
words, Herzberg argued that there are two distinct human needs portrayed. First, there are
physiological needs that can be fulfilled by money, for example, to purchase food and shelter.
Second, there is the psychological need to achieve and grow, and this need is fulfilled by
activities that cause one to grow.

From the above table of results, one observes that the factors that determine whether there is
dissatisfaction, or no dissatisfaction are not part of the work itself, but rather, are external
factors. Herzberg often referred to these hygiene factors as "kita" factors, where kita is an ac-
ronym for kick in the a..., the process of providing incentives or a threat of punishment to
cause someone to do something. Herzberg argues that these provide only short-run success
because the motivator factors that determine whether there is satisfaction or no satisfaction
are intrinsic to the job itself, and do not result from carrot and stick incentives.

Implications for management

If the motivation-hygiene theory holds, management not only must provide hygiene factors to
avoid employee dissatisfaction, but also must provide factors intrinsic to the work itself in or-
der for employees to be satisfied with their jobs.

Herzberg argued that job enrichment is required for intrinsic motivation, and that it is a con-
tinuous management process. According to Herzberg:

 The job should have sufficient challenge to utilize the full ability of the employee.
 Employees who demonstrate increasing levels of ability should be given increasing
levels of responsibility.
 If a job cannot be designed to use an employee's full abilities, then the firm should
consider automating the task or replacing the employee with one who has a lower
 level of skill. If a person cannot be fully utilized, then there will be a motivation prob-
lem.

Critics of Herzberg’s theory argue that the two-factor result is observed because it is natural
for people to take credit for satisfaction and to blame dissatisfaction on external factors. Fur-
thermore, job satisfaction does not necessarily imply a high level of motivation or productiv-
ity.

Herzberg's theory has been broadly

read and despite its weaknesses its en-
during value is that it recognizes that
true motivation comes from within a
person and not from kite factors.

Adams' equity theory

The theory summarized:

The Adams’ equity theory is named for john Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioural
psychologist, who developed this job motivation theory in 1963.

Much like many of the more prevalent theories of motivation (theories by Maslow’s hier-
archy of needs, Herzberg’s theory, etc.), the Adams’ equity theory acknowledges that subtle
and variable factors affect an employee’s assessment and perception of their relationship with
their work and their employer.

The theory is built-on the belief that employees become de-motivated, both in relation to their
job and their employer, if they feel as though their inputs are greater than the outputs. Em-
ployees can be expected to respond to this is different ways, including de-motivation (gener-
ally to the extent the employee perceives the disparity between the inputs and the outputs ex-
ist), reduced effort, becoming disgruntled, or, in more extreme cases, perhaps even disruptive.
How to apply the Adams' equity theory:

It is important to also consider the Adams’ equity theory factors when striving to improve an
employee's job satisfaction, motivation level, etc., and what can be done to promote higher
levels of each.

to do this, consider the balance or imbalance that currently exists between your employee's
inputs and outputs, as follows:

Inputs typically include:

 Effort
 Loyalty
 Hard work
 Commitment
 Skill
 Ability
 Adaptability
 Flexibility
 Tolerance
 Determination
 Enthusiasm
 Trust in superiors
 Support of colleagues
 Personal sacrifice, etc.

Outputs typically include:

 Financial rewards (salary, benefits, perks, etc.)

 Intangibles that typically include:

 Recognition
 Reputation
 Responsibility
 Sense of achievement
 Praise
 Stimulus
 Sense of advancement/growth
 Job security
 Douglas McGregor - theory x y

Douglas McGregor’s X Y theory, managing an x theory boss, and william ouchi's theory
z

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous x-y theory in his
1960 book 'the human side of enterprise'. Theory x and theory y are still referred to com-
monly in the field of management and motivation, and whilst more recent studies have ques-
tioned the rigidity of the model, McGregor’s x-y theory remains a valid basic principle from
which to develop positive management style and techniques. McGregor’s X Y theory remains
central to organizational development, and to improving organizational culture.

McGregor’s x-y theory is a salutary and simple reminder of the natural rules for managing
people, which under the pressure of day-to-day business are all too easily forgotten.

McGregor maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Many
managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results. Enlightened managers use
theory y, which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow and de-
velop.

Theory x ('authoritarian management' style)

 The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
 Therefore, most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards or-
ganisational objectives.
 The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambi-
tious and wants security above all else.
 Work is inherently distasteful to most people, and they will attempt to avoid work
whenever possible.
 Most people are not ambitious, have little desire for responsibility, and prefer to be direc-
ted.
 Most people have little aptitude for creativity in solving organizational problems.
 Motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels of Maslow’s needs hier-
archy.
 Most people are self-centred. As a result, they must be closely controlled and often co-
erced to achieve organizational objectives
 Most people resist change.
 Most people are gullible and unintelligent.

Essentially, theory x assumes that the primary source of most employee motivation is

monetary, with security as a strong second.

The hard approach and soft approach

Under theory x, management approaches to motivation range from a hard approach to a soft
approach.

The hard approach to motivation relies on coercion, implicit threats, micromanagement, and
tight controls -- essentially an environment of command and control. The soft approach, how-
ever, is to be permissive and seek harmony in the hopes that, in return, employees will co-
operate when asked. However, neither of these extremes is optimal. The hard approach res-
ults in hostility, purposely low-output, and extreme union demands. The soft approach results
in increasing desire for greater reward in exchange for diminishing work output.

It would appear that the optimal approach to human resource management would be lie some-
where between these extremes. However, McGregor asserts that neither approach is appropri-
ate since the foundations of theory x are incorrect.

Characteristics of the x theory manager

Perhaps the most noticeable aspects of McGregor’s xy theory - and the easiest to illustrate -
are found in the behaviours of autocratic managers and organizations which use autocratic
management styles.

What are the characteristics of a theory x manager? Typically, some, most or all of these:

 Results-driven and deadline-driven, to the exclusion of everything else

 Intolerant
 Issues deadlines and ultimatums
 Distant and detached
 Aloof and arrogant
 Elitist
 Short temper
 Shouts
 Issues instructions, directions, edicts
 Issues threats to make people follow instructions
 Demands, never asks
 Does not participate
 Does not team-build
 Unconcerned about staff welfare, or morale
 Proud, sometimes to the point of self-destruction
 One-way communicator
 Poor listener
 Fundamentally insecure and possibly neurotic
 Anti-social
 Vengeful and recriminatory
 Does not thank or praise
 Withholds rewards, and suppresses pay and remunerations levels
 Scrutinises expenditure to the point of false economy
 Seeks culprits for failures or shortfalls
 Seeks to apportion blame instead of focusing on learning from the experience and pre-
venting recurrence
 Does not invite or welcome suggestions
 Takes criticism badly and likely to retaliate if from below or peer group
 Poor at proper delegating - but believes they delegate well
 Thinks giving orders is delegating
 Holds on to responsibility but shifts accountability to subordinates
 Relatively unconcerned with investing in anything to gain future improvements
 

How to manage upwards - managing your x theory boss

Working for an x theory boss isn't easy - some extreme x theory managers make extremely
unpleasant managers, but there are ways of managing these people upwards. Avoiding con-
frontation (unless you are genuinely being bullied, which is a different matter) and delivering
results are the key tactics.

 Theory x managers (or indeed theory y managers displaying theory x behaviour) are
primarily results oriented - so orientate your own discussions and dealings with them
around results - i.e., what you can deliver and when.
 Theory x managers are facts and figures oriented - so cut out the incidentals, be able to
measure and substantiate anything you say and do for them, especially reporting on res-
ults and activities.
 Theory x managers generally don't understand or have an interest in the human issues, so
don't try to appeal to their sense of humanity or morality. Set your own objectives to meet
their organisational aims and agree these with the managers; be seen to be self-starting,
self-motivating, self-disciplined and well-organised - the more the x theory manager sees
you are managing yourself and producing results, the less they'll feel the need to do it for
you.
 Always deliver your commitments and promises. If you are given an unrealistic task
and/or deadline state the reasons why it's not realistic, but be very sure of your ground,
don't be negative; be constructive as to how the overall aim can be achieved in a way that
you know you can deliver.
 Stand up for yourself, but constructively - avoid confrontation. Never threaten or go over
their heads if you are dissatisfied or you'll be in big trouble afterwards and life will be a
lot more difficult.
 If an x theory boss tells you how to do things in ways that are not comfortable or right for
you, then don't questioning the process, simply confirm the end-result that is required,
and check that it's okay to 'streamline the process' or 'get things done more efficiently' if
the chance arises - they'll normally agree to this, which effectively gives you control over
the 'how', provided you deliver the 'what' and 'when'.

And this is really the essence of managing upwards x theory managers - focus and get
agreement on the results and deadlines - if you consistently deliver, you'll increasingly be
given more leeway on how you go about the tasks, which amounts to more freedom. Be
aware also that many x theory managers are forced to be x theory by the short-term demands
of the organisation and their own superiors - an x theory manager is usually someone with
their own problems, so try not to give them anymore.

The problem with x theory

Drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McGregor argues that a need, once satisfied, no
longer motivates. The company relies on monetary rewards and benefits to satisfy employees'
lower-level needs. Once those needs have been satisfied, the motivation is gone. This man-
agement style, in fact, hinders the satisfaction of higher-level needs. Consequently, the only
way that employees can attempt to satisfy higher level needs at work is to seek more com-
 pensation, so it is quite predictable that they will focus on monetary rewards. While money
may not be the most effective way to self-fulfilment, it may be the only way available. People
will use work to satisfy their lower needs and seek to satisfy their higher needs during their
leisure time. Unfortunately, employees can be most productive when their work goals align
with their higher-level needs.

McGregor makes the point that a command-and-control environment is not effective because
it relies on lower needs for motivation, but in modern society those needs are mostly satisfied
and thus no longer motivate. In this situation, one would expect employees to dislike their
work, avoid responsibility, have no interest in organizational goals, resist change, etc., thus
creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. To McGregor, motivation seemed more likely with the
theory y model.

 Xy theory management application - business implications for workforce motivation

If theory y holds true, an organization can apply these principles of scientific management to
improve employee motivation:

 Decentralization and delegation - if firms decentralize control and reduce the number of levels of
management, managers will have more subordinates and consequently will be forced to delegate
some responsibility and decision making to them.
 Job enlargement - broadening the scope of an employee's job adds variety and opportunities to
satisfy ego needs.
 Participative management - consulting employees in the decision-making process taps their creat-
ive capacity and provides them with some control over their work environment.
 Performance appraisals - having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of
evaluating how well they were met.

If properly implemented, such an environment would result in a high level of workforce

motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher-level personal needs through their jobs.

 Theory x (authoritarian management style)

 The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
 Therefore, most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards or-
ganisational objectives.
 The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambi-
tious and wants security above all else.
 Work is inherently distasteful to most people, and they will attempt to avoid work
whenever possible.
 Most people are not ambitious, have little desire for responsibility, and prefer to be direc-
ted.
 Most people have little aptitude for creativity in solving organizational problems.
 Motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels of maslow's needs hier-
archy.
 Most people are self-centred. As a result, they must be closely controlled and often co-
erced to achieve organizational objectives
 Most people resist change.
 Most people are gullible and unintelligent.


McGregor’s theory x and theory y

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous x-y theory in his
1960 book 'the human side of enterprise'. Theory x and theory y are still referred to com-
monly in the field of management and motivation, and whilst more recent studies have ques-
tioned the rigidity of the model, McGregor’s x-y theory remains a valid basic principle from
which to develop positive management style and techniques. McGregor’s xy theory remains
central to organizational development, and to improving organizational culture.

McGregor’s x-y theory is a salutary and simple reminder of the natural rules for managing
people, which under the pressure of day-to-day business are all too easily forgotten.

McGregor maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Many
managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results. Enlightened managers use
theory y, which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow and de-
velop.

Essentially, theory x assumes that the primary source of most employee motivation is monet-
ary, with security as a strong second.

 Theory y (participative management style)

 Effort in work is as natural as work and play.

 People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational ob-
jectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
 Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
 People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
 The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving
organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.
 In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.
 Work can be as natural as play if the conditions are favourable.
 People will be self-directed and creative to meet their work and organizational object-
ives if they are committed to them.

People will be committed to their quality and productivity objectives if rewards are in place
that address higher needs such as self-fulfilment

 The capacity for creativity spreads throughout organizations.

 Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common
in the population.

Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility.

Tools for teaching, understanding and evaluating x-y theory factors

‘Theory X’ ‘Theory Y’
management staff

Theory X - authoritarian, Theory Y - liberating and

repressive style. Tight control, developmental. Control,
no development. Produces achievement and continuous
limited, depressed culture. improvement achieved by
enabling, empowering and

staff management
 Comments on theory x and theory y assumptions

McGregor sees these two theories as two quite separate attitudes. Theory y is difficult to put
into practice on the shop floor in large mass production operations, but it can be used initially
in the managing of managers and professionals.

In "the human side of enterprise" McGregor shows how theory y affects the management of
promotions and salaries and the development of effective managers. McGregor also sees
theory y as conducive to participative problem solving.

It is part of the manager's job to exercise authority, and there are cases in which this is the
only method of achieving the desired results because subordinates do not agree that the ends
are desirable.

However, in situations where it is possible to obtain commitment to objectives, it is better to

explain the matter fully so that employees grasp the purpose of an action. They will then
exert self-direction and control to do better work - quite possibly by better methods - than if
they had simply been carrying out an order which the y did not fully understand.

The situation in which employees can be consulted is one where the individuals are
emotionally mature, and positively motivated towards their work; where the work is
sufficiently responsible to allow for flexibility and where the employee can see her or his
own position in the management hierarchy. If these conditions are present, managers will find
that the participative approach to problem solving leads to much improved results compared
with the alternative approach of handing out authoritarian orders.

Once management becomes persuaded that it is underestimating the potential of its human
resources, and accepts the knowledge given by social science researchers and displayed in
theory y assumptions, then it can invest time, money and effort in developing improved
applications of the theory.

McGregor realizes that some of the theories he has put forward are unrealizable in practice,
but wants managers to put into operation the basic assumption that:

 Staff will contribute more to the organization if they are treated as responsible and
valued employees.

 Theory z - William ouchi

First things first - theory z is not a McGregor’s idea and as such is not McGregor’s extension
of his xy theory.

Theory z was developed by not by McGregor, but by William ouchi, in his book 1981 'theory
z: how American management can meet the Japanese challenge'. William ouchi is professor
of management at ucla, loss Angeles, and a board member of several large us organisations.
Theory z is often referred to as the 'Japanese' management style, which is essentially what it
is. It's interesting that ouchi chose to name his model 'theory z', which apart from anything
else tends to give the impression that it's a McGregor idea. One wonders if the idea was not
considered strong enough to stand alone with a completely new name... Nevertheless, theory
z essentially advocates a combination of all that's best about theory y and modern Japanese
management, which places a large amount of freedom and trust with workers and assumes
that workers have a strong loyalty and interest in team-working and the organisation.

Theory z also places more reliance on the attitude and responsibilities of the workers,
whereas McGregor’s xy theory is mainly focused on management and motivation from the
manager's and organisation's perspective. There is no doubt that ouch’s theory z model offers
excellent ideas, albeit it is lacking the simple elegance of McGregor’s model, which let's face
it, thousands of organisations and managers around the world have still yet to embrace. For
this reason, theory z may for some be like trying to manage the kitchen at the ritz before mas-
tering the ability to cook a decent fried breakfast.

 to develop your understanding of McGregor’s x-y theory, complete the free test which indic-
ates whether your organisation is more theory-x or theory-y, as well as indicating your own
(or the particular individual's) preference to be managed by x or y style. The test is a simple
reflective tool, not a scientifically validated instrument, designed to give a broad indication of
xy theory tendencies and to aid understanding of the model.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Clayton Alderfer developed another need theory that streamlines Maslow’s. Alderfer does not
disagrees with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs completely. He suggests that as more concrete
needs are satisfied, less concrete needs become more important. Instead of the five needs that
Maslow believes should be
satisfied, Alderfer says
the three are only three
Grow
important needs: th existence
relatedness, and growth.

Relatedness

Existence
Clayton Alderfer’s ERG theory differs from Maslow’s theory in three respects.

First, the theory collapses Maslow’s five need categories into three:

1) Existence needs are desires or physiological and material well-being.

2) Relatedness needs are desires for satisfying interpersonal relationships.
3) Growth needs are desires for continued personal growth and development.

Second, whereas Maslow’s theory argues that individuals move up the hierarchy as a result of
the satisfaction of lower order needs, ERG theory includes a unique frustration-regression
component. This suggests that an already satisfied need can become activated when a higher
need cannot be satisfied. Thus, if a person is continually frustrated in his or her attempts to
satisfy growth needs, relatedness needs can again surface as key motivators.

ERG theory offers a more flexible approach to understanding human needs than does
Maslow’s strict hierarchy. There are some differences between the ERG theory and the
Hierarchy of Needs theory. For one, the ERG theory does not believe in the levels of needs.
A lower-level need does not need to be gratified. This theory accounts for a variety of
individual differences, which would cause a worker to satisfy the need at hand, whether or
not a previous need has been satisfied. The second difference is that if a more important need
is not gratified, the desire to gratify a lesser need will increase. However, the frustration of
higher-older needs might lead workers to regress to a more concrete need category. The two
major motivational premises that the ERG theory gives are: the lower-level needs are
gratified, the more higher-level need satisfaction is desired; the less higher-level needs are
gratified, the lower-level satisfaction is desired.

McClelland's Theory of Needs

In the late 1940's psychologist David McClelland and his co-workers began experimenting
the thematic appreciation test (TAT)as a way of measuring human needs. The TAT as a way
of measuring human needs. The TAT is a projective technique that ask people to view
pictures and write stories about what they see.
McClelland identified three themes on such TAT stories, with each corresponding to an
underlying need that he believes important for understanding individual behaviour. these
needs include:

1. Need for achievement(nAch): The desire to do something better or more efficiently, to

solve problems, or to master complex tasks.
2. Need for affliation(nAff): The desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm
relations with others; and

3. Need for power(nPower): The desire to control others, to influence their

behaviour, or to be responsible for others. The preferences for persons high in needs for
achievement, affiliation, and power include:

4. High need achievement: Individual responsibility but double goals; feedback on

performance (e.g., challenging quota and opportunity).

5. High need affiliation- Interpersonal relationships. Opportunities to communicate

(e.g., customer service, members of group unit subject to group bonus)

6. High need power: Influence over other person’s attention; recognition (e.g., formal
position of supervisory responsibility). People having these needs have certain ways of
dealing with their jobs. People who are high in the need for achievement tend to be
mostly concerned with performing better than other perform. They are usually more
innovative and perform long term goal involvement. people with high need for affiliation
are more concerned with establishing interpersonal relations with other people. They tend
to communicate more frequently.

Finally, the people with high need for power wish to make an impression or influence
others. They are very concerned with personal prestige. therefore, McClelland believes
that managers can motivate workers by knowing what kinds of need they have and
provide them with a job that matches that need. a person behaviour is not determined by
needs alone. a person’s habit, skills and environmental opportunities are also factors.
McClelland says that there is no one-to-one correspondence between needs and
behaviour.

McClelland need theory has created many predictions about many aspects of human
motivation. Recently, a researcher found that American males with high achievement need
come more often from the middle class than from the lower or upper class. They have better
memory for incomplete tasks and more apt to volunteer as subjects for psychological
experiments .They are more active in college and community activities, choose experts over
friends as working partners and are more resistant to social pressure .They also cannot give
accurate reports of what their “inner concern” with achievement is therefore, it might be
assumed that such subjects-the “highs”-would always do better at any kind of task under any
circumstances. Other research as suggested that appealing for cooperation leads those in the
group who have strong need for affiliation. work harder, rather than those with high need in
achievement.
 VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY

This theory brings together many of the elements of previous theories. It combines the
perceptual aspects of equity theories with the behavioral aspects of the other theories
Basically, it comes down to this “equation”:

M=E*I*V

or

Motivation = Expectancy * Instrumentality * Valence

M (motivation) is the amount a person will be motivated by the situation in which they find
themselves. It is the function of the following: E (expectancy) = The person’s perception that
effort will result in performance. In other words, the people. I (instrumentality) = the
person’s perception that performance will be rewarded/punished, i.e., the person’s assessment
of how well the amount of reward correlates with the quality of performance. (Note here that
model is phrased in terms of extrinsic motivation, in that it asks, ‘what are chances I am
going to get rewarded if I do a good job?’. But for intrinsic situations, we can think as asking
‘how good will I feel if I can pull this off?’). V(valence) = the perceived strength of the
reward or punishment that will result from the performance. Valence may be positive
(Individual prefers attaining zero valance but is indifferent towards the outcome) or negative
Valance (individual prefers not to attain). If the reward is small, the motivation will be small,
even if expectancy and instrumentality are both perfect (high). The model of Vroom’s theory
may be as follows

CASE STUDY

Performance and Motivation in McDonalds

People are the most important resources of an organisation. They ensure the interaction of
financial, industrial, and other resources so that the organisation can function. Nowadays
experienced managers realize that the financial reward cannot stay the only kind of an
employee encouragement. The employees' needs should be viewed as an entity that leads to
the search of non-financial motives. There exist many non-financial motives that are
connected with the employee's satisfaction of needs, such as his/her recognition, participation
in the decision-making, self-fulfilment, personal growth and others.

The practice shows that the full use of human resources of an organisation is one of the most
significant advantages, which allow companies to occupy the leading positions in the world
market. The 'McDonalds' company flourishes owing to the logical integration of the staff into
the problem solving. The company adheres to the principle: 'The result is done by a man'.
'McDonalds' examines its employees as the primary source of progress in the field of quality
and productivity. This organisation has based its success on the motivation theories having
altered only some aspects of them. 'McDonalds' adheres to four simple principles, which give
the possibility to increase the performance of its employees:

1. The company must elaborate different systems of motivation for every department.

2. The personnel must have clear and attainable aims. It is better to have one aim per a
person.

3. The aims must change: managers should have one aim for half of a year. For example, at
first a manager examines the number of clients, then he/she examines the number of returning
clients; and then he/she should analyse the increase in business sales. This method gives the
possibility to find new abilities of employees and to check new methods of work.

4. The rise of salary amount must be sensible for an employee.

The 'McDonalds' company applies three components of the motivation system: financial
encouragement, non-financial encouragement, and social policy. All the three factors are
described in Maslow's motivation theory. However, Maslow states that all the needs must be
fulfilled one after another. The research of the 'McDonalds' company, its strategy and
structure show that only a simultaneous fulfilment of employee's needs will increase an
employee's performance. It is not necessary to fulfil all the needs of every level. In the reality
an employee has a set of needs in every concrete moment.

Summarising, the 'McDonalds' company has effective motivation system that makes it
possible to increase employees' performance, and hence the company's productivity. The
situational approach applied by 'McDonalds' administration staff has turned out to be the
most relevant to the current situation. The administrators have used the specific techniques on
the basis of motivation theories. Having applied the procedure of assembly line in food
preparation, 'McDonalds' has ensured the standard quality of the production and the high
performance. Besides, the company has implemented effective motivation strategy that is
based on the existing motivation theories. Consequently, on the basis of the research we can
say that every company has its own system of behaviour explanation, and every concrete case
should be examined as the 'McDonalds' company case. Motivation theories, such as Maslow's
theory and Self Determination Theory should serve as the basis for elaborating a strategy
which will direct manager's forces towards the aim - employee satisfaction via intrinsic
motivation and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs model.