MOTIVATION: CONCEPTS &

APPLICATION

A process that accounts for an individual’s:

 intensity,
 direction and
 persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

A desire resulting in goal-directed behaviour/action.

 Ability & Opportunity
High level of Performance is a function of an absence of
obstacles that constrain employees.
 Performance is a function of Ability, Motivation and
Opportunity
 Ability = Knowledge x Skills
 i.e. Performance = f (A X M X O)
 Performance is also a function of :
 Ability, Motivation and Attitude
 Ability decides what you CAN do
 Motivation decides what you WILL do
 Attitude will decide HOW you will do
 Ability, Motivation and Performance

Able but not Willing Able & Willing

A Counterproductive Proactive
B
I
L
I
T
Y Willing but Unable
Unable & Unwilling
Passive/Inactive Reactive

WILLINGNESS/ENTHUSIASM
 Organisational Initiatives
Able but not Willing Able & Willing
Will Counterproductive Proactive
Do
High/Star Performers
To be motivated/ Groomed for higher
counseled Responsibilities

Unable & Unwilling Willing but Unable

Passive/Inactive Reactive

Won’t Obsolete/not to To be Trained

Do be retained

Can’t Do Can Do
 Theories of Motivation

1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 Lower Order Needs: Physiological & Safety
Needs
 Higher Order Needs: Social, Esteem and Self
Actualisation
 Achievement Challenging Job
SELF
ACTUALISATION

Status & Position SELF ESTEEM Job Title

Friendship Teamwork
BELONGINGNESS

Stability SAFETY NEEDS Pension Plan

Sustenance PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS Base Salary

APPLICATION OF MASLOW’S THEORY IN ORGANISATIONS

 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Hygiene Factors:
Physical working conditions, pay, job security,
quality of supervision, company policies
Motivators:
Work itself, recognition, responsibility,
achievement, opportunities for
promotion/personal growth.
Absence of Hygiene factors results in Job Dissatisfaction.
But Hygiene factors cannot ensure Job Satisfaction.
Opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No Satisfaction”
Opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”
 Theories of Motivation (Contd.)
ERG Theory (C. Alderfer) : :
Existence
Relatedness
Growth
McClelland’s Theory:
 Need for Achievement (nAch)
 Need for Power (nPow)
 Need for Affiliation (nAff)

High Achievers prefer jobs with personal responsibility,

feedback, Moderate risks
 Goal-setting Theory (Edwin Locke)
COGNITIVE APPROACH - PURPOSE DIRECTS
BEHAVIOUR:
 Specificity is important for goal attainment
 Specific goals, with feedback, lead to higher
performance.
 Feedback helps to identify discrepancies and helps
to guide behaviour.
 Self-generated feedback is a more powerful
motivator than externally generated feedback.
 Involvement/participation in goal-setting is likely
to lead to greater effort
 REINFORCEMENT THEORY

BEHAVIORISTIC APPROACH - REINFORCEMENT

CONDITIONS BEHAVIOUR:
 Behaviour is a function of its consequence
Individuals tend to repeat behaviour which has positive
outcomes and avoid behaviours which have negative outcomes
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
• Reward positive behaviour/actions
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
• Punish negative behaviour/actions
 EXPECTANCY THEORY (Vroom)
The tendency to act in a certain way depends on the
strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a
given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to
the individual.
1. Effort-Performance Relationship
2. Performance-Reward Relationship
3. Reward-Personal Goals Relationship

Individual Personal
Ind. Effort Org. Rewards SatisifyingGoals
Performance
 Components of Expectancy Theory

 Valence: Degree of desirability of outcomes

 Instrumentality: Belief that the first level output will
lead to second-level outcome
 Expectancy: Belief that an effort will lead to the
completion of a task
 EQUITY THEORY
 Comparison of individual job inputs and outcomes with
those of others and then try to eliminate any inequities
 Referent Comparisons:

Self-inside

Self-outside

Other-inside

Other-outside
 In case of an inequity individuals make one of these choices:
 Change their inputs (Knowledge, skill)
 Change their outputs (Output, Way of working)
 Distort perception of self (Look at self differently)
 Distort perception of others (Look at others differently)
 Choose a different referent
 Leave the field
JOB ENLARGEMENT & JOB ENRICHMENT
Suggested Action Core Job Dimensions

Combine Tasks Skill Variety

Form Natural Work Units Task Identity

Establish Client Task Significance

Relationship

Expand job vertically Autonomy

Open feedback channels Improvement

 FROM CONCEPTS TO APPLICATIONS

Management by Objectives (MBO)

 Setting specific goals, participatively for an explicit time
period, with feedback on goal progress.
 Goals that are tangible, verifiable and measurable.
 Converting organisational goals into specific objectives
for org. units and members
 MBO works bottom-up and “top-down”

MBO has a link with Goal-setting Theory

 Employee Recognition Programs

 Personal attention
 Appreciation for a job well done
 Public Recognition
 Awards
 Suggestion
 Celebrate team success
 Application: Suggestion Systems for improving
process or cutting costs to be recongised with
awards.
 Has a link with Reinforcement Theory
 Employee Involvement Programs

 Employee participation
 Empowerment
 Employee Ownership
Advantages: Increases autonomy and control, increases
motivation, enhances org. commitment,
employees are more productive and are more satisfied
with their jobs.
Has a link with Reinforcement Theory
 Forms of Employee Involvement Programs

 Participative Management
 Representative Participation
 Quality Circles
 Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
 Participative Management

 Issues must be relevant to the interests of those involved

 Must have competence and knowledge to make useful
contribution
 There must be trust and confidence between all parties
involved
Why Management should share DM power with
subordinates?
Work has become more complex
Interdependence
Provides intrinsic motivation and commitment
 Variable Pay Programs

A portion of an employee’s pay is based on some

individual and/or organisational measure of
performance

 Piece rate plans

 Profit sharing Plans: Based on Co.’s Profitability
 Gain-sharing: Based on group productivity
Link with Expectancy Theory
 Skill-based Pay Plans
Pay levels based on how many skills employees have or
how many jobs they can do.
 Encourage employees to develop flexibility
 Continue to learn
 Develops multi-skilling
 To generalise rather than specialise
 To work cooperatively
 Input rather than seniority or education could be the
criteria for determining pay and thereby increases
perception of equity
 Motivating Professionals

 Money and promotions are low on their priority

 Job challenge is ranked high
 More committed to their profession than employer
 To keep current in their field they need to update their
knowledge regularly
 Look for skill-development opportunities
 Like to tackle problems and find solutions
 Value support
 Motivating Diversified Workforce

For those pursuing education:

Flexible work hours
Job sharing
Temporary assignment
Flexibility in terms of work schedules, compensation
plans, benefits, flexible leave policies, physical work
settings
 INTRINSIC MOTIVATION (Ken Thomas)
 Genuinely care about their work
 Look for better ways to do the work
 Get energized and fulfilled by doing it well
PRE CONDITIONS FOR INTRINSIC MOTIVATION:
 Competence
 Opportunity
 Meaningfulness of Job
 Progress
 FACTORS EFFECTING MOTIVATION

Moderating Variables for Intrinsic Motivation

1. Role Clarity
2. Role Definition with scope for functioning
3. Freedom/Autonomy
4. Opportunities for learning and growth
5. Person-Job Fit
6. Person-Organisation Fit
7. Interpersonal Relations
8. Interest in the job
9. Involvement/Participation in DM
10. Support
 What Motivates Managers
1. Conducive Work culture and opportunity to work in teams
2. Open communication/Feedback
3. Transparency
4. Acceptance by significant others
5. Supportive boss and accessibility of seniors
6. Guidance from senior where required but freedom to function
otherwise
7. Job personally satisfying
8. Acceptance of ideas/suggestions by seniors
9. Involvement/participation in decision making
10. Freedom/autonomy and empowerment
11. Opportunities for learning, gaining skills and enhancing their marketability
12. Choice of work/assignment
13. Flexi-time: To maintain work-life balance
14. Personal appreciation and recognition
15. Promotion based on Performance/Merit
 What motivates employees?

 Opportunities for learning, gaining skills and enhancing

their marketability
 Choice of work/assignment
 Flexi-time: To maintain work-life balance
 Personal appreciation and recognition
 Accessibility of managers
 How to Motivate Employees
 Understand employees needs
 Jobs according to competence and interest
 Training opportunities
 Conducive work environment
 Appreciation of high performance
 Regular Feedback
 Setting clear expectations
 Opening channels of communication
 Maintaining frequent contacts with people
 Sending small personal notes of appreciation
 High nAch

Intrinsic
Motivation
Equity
Comparison
Perf. Eval.
Opportunity Ability
Criteria

Individual Individual Organisational

Personal Goals
Effort Performance Rewards

Obj. Per. Eval.

Reinforcement Dom. Needs
System

Goal Directed
Behaviour