Intrapersonal Processes

UNIT 12 MOTIVATION

Objectives
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• understand the concept and importance of motivation
• discuss the types of motivation and important motivation theories
• explain the role of economic and non-economic rewards in improving
employee motivation.
Structure
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Meaning and Definition
12.3 Motivating Factors
12.4 Importance of Motivation
12.5 Motivating Steps
12.6 Types of Motivation
12.7 Theories of Motivation
12.8 Economic and Non-Economic Motivation
12.9 Rewarding Systems
12.10 How to Improve Motivation?
12.11 Summary
12.12 Self-Assessment Questions
12.13 Further Readings

12.1 INTRODUCTION
People differ by nature, not only in their ability to perform a specific task, but
also in their will to do so. People with less ability but stronger will are able to
perform better than people with superior ability and lack of will. Motivation
represents those forces acting within a person which causes them to behave in a
specific goal directed behaviour. Hence, organisations have to make use of rewards
and incentives as these are powerful motivators. Motivation is necessary to
accomplish tasks, to produce quality goods, and for other related purposes.
However, motivation is not an easy task. Since work motives affect the employee’s
productivity, one of the management’s job is to channelize their motivations
towards achieving organisational goals. The content theories and process theories
help to identify those specific factors which will motivate individuals to behave
in a particular way. In this context, the organisations have to make use of a
combination of financial and non-financial incentives to achieve a high level of
performance among employees. The force of motivation is a dynamic one setting
a person into motion or action.
This unit starts with discussion on the various motivating factors which affect an
individual’s behaviour. Moreover, the importance of motivation, and two broad
categories of early and contemporary motivation theories, are also a part of this
56 unit.
Motivation
12.2 MEANING AND DEFINITION
Motivation is the process of creating organisational conditions which will impel
employees to strive to attain company goals. “Motivation represents an unsatisfied
need which creates a state of tension or disequilibrium, causing the individual to
move in a goal-directed pattern towards restoring a state of equilibrium by
satisfying the need.” According to Dubin,1 “motivation is the complex of forces
starting and keeping a person at work in an organisation.” Seen from the corporate
perspective, motivation is the willingness to put forth effort in pursuit of
organisational objectives.

Motivation refers to the willingness of individual members to set and accept

challenging goals, and to take responsibility, their involvement in work, and
their job satisfaction. It is a process which begins with a physiological or
psychological need or deficiency which triggers behaviour or a drive that is aimed
at a goal or an incentive.

The purpose of motivation is to create conditions in which people are willing to

work with zeal, initiative, interest and enthusiasm, with a sense of responsibility,
loyalty and discipline, and with pride and confidence in the most cohesive manner,
so that the goals of an organisation are achieved effectively. Motivational
techniques are utilised to stimulate employee growth. Motivation is a combination
of many diverse elements which are rather difficult to define. However, two
elements have been regarded as important: (a) understanding of the fundamental
drives, urges, needs of the people which are subject to emotional stimulation or
motivation, and (b) communication with people so that they may have a
satisfactory stimulus to their urges.

Motivation is a function which a manager performs in order to get his subordinates

to achieve job objectives. It is not merely a management process; there is another
side to it — the individual being motivated. Psychologists call individual
motivation a state of tension. The motivation of a group is as important as self-
motivation. A group can be motivated by improving human relations and dealing
with people in a humane way, by developing the will to do, by encouraging
involvement in their work, and by giving them an opportunity to improve their
performance and by complimenting or praising them. Other important factors
which motivate individuals include respect for individuality, good pay, opportunity
to do interesting work, feeling that the job is important, a large amount of freedom
on the job, and opportunity and self-development. No firm can be productive
without motivated employees.

12.3 MOTIVATING FACTORS

Some managers try to motivate employees through the use of rewards,
punishments and formal authority. But, motivation is much more complicated
than that. It involves ideas of family, team work, variety, growth, learning, salary,
other benefits, and the like. Work in itself has become more important than the
employer or the organisation. Executives today are interested in challenging
assignments that involves application of one’s mind. Risk involvement is
appreciated and viewed as exciting so much so that easy jobs involving simple
tasks and no risks are demotivating.
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Intrapersonal Processes Workers, executives and managers today would like to have a ‘say’ in policies,
the rules and regulations, the targets and other job-related issues. Employees do
not enjoy a routine, monotonous role of being a cog in the wheel. They prefer
taking risks, making decisions and delivering the goods. Need for individuality
and for unique identity is felt strongly among young executives today.

Innovation and creativity have come to be crucial needs for executives today.
They like to be listened to, for their suggestions and new ideas. They also enjoy
implementing new, better and effective strategies to reach the goals of their team/
organisation.

There is also the need for the job profile to suit one’s aptitude — a software
consultant who has aptitude for development but no inclination for teaching, if
allocated as training faculty will not be motivated. Another consultant who enjoys
teaching will be highly motivated when allocated as training faculty.

There is also the growing need amongst today’s workers/executives for enriching
one’s skills, i.e., for individual development. Employees look forward to
development of new skills rather than security of jobs in an organisation. Training
and development programmes also provide a break from the daily routine and
work pressure. In the absence of such activity, an employee feels demotivated
and is unable to give his best to his employer. Today’s employees, therefore,
want to add value to themselves as they make valuable contributions to their
organisations.

Just as employees have a need for challenging work involving risks, they also
need to be forgiven for any mistakes made in the process. Employees feel
motivated and perform better when mistakes are forgiven or ignored.

12.4 IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION

Probably, no concept of human resource management receives as much attention
of academicians, researchers, and practising managers as motivation. The
increased attention towards motivation is justified by several reasons.
1) Motivated employees are always looking for better ways to do a job: This
statement can apply to corporate strategies, and to production workers. When
people actively seek new ways of doing things, they usually find them. It is
the responsibility of managers to make employees look for better ways of
doing their jobs. An understanding of the nature of motivation is helpful in
this context.
2) A motivated employee, generally, is more quality oriented: This is true
whether we are talking about a top manager spending extra time on data
gathering and analysis for a report, or a clerk taking extra care when filing
important documents. In either case, the organisation benefits, because
individuals in and outside the organisation see the enterprise as quality
conscious. A clear understanding of the way motivation work, helps a
manager make his employees quality oriented.
3) Highly motivated workers are more productive than apathetic workers:
The high productivity of Japanese workers and the fact that fewer workers
are needed to produce an automobile in Japan than elsewhere is well-known.
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The high productivity of Japanese workers is attributable to many reasons, Motivation
but motivation is the main factor.
4) Every organisation requires human resource, in addition to financial and
physical resources for it to function: Three behavioural dimensions of human
resource are significant to the organisation: (a) people must be attracted not
only to join the organisation but also to remain in it; (b) people must perform
the tasks for which they are hired, and must do so in a dependable manner;
and (c) people must go beyond this dependable role performance and engage
in some form of creative, spontaneous, and innovative behaviour at work.
In other words, for an organisation to be effective, it must come to grips
with the motivational problems of stimulating both the decision to participate
and the decision to produce at work.
5) Motivation as a concept represents a highly complex phenomenon that
affects, and is affected by, a multitude of factors in the organisational milieu:
A comprehensive understanding of the way in which an organisation
functions requires that increasing attention be directed towards the question
of why people behave as they do, on their jobs.
6) Yet another reason why increasing attention is paid towards motivation
can be found in the present and future technology required for production:
Increased use of technology results in greater efficiency, higher productivity
and better standard of living to the people.

12.5 MOTIVATING STEPS

Jucius2 has observed that the following steps be adopted in motivation:
a) Sizing Up: This involves ascertaining motivational needs. All employees
need motivation but of varying kinds and in varying degrees.
b) Preparing a Set of Motivating Tools: This requires a selection of specific
tools of motivation. An executive, from personal experience, from the
experiences of others, and with the help of the personnel department, may
draw up a list of devices that may motivate different types of people under
different circumstances.
c) Selecting and Applying Motivation: The executive should decide the words,
the tone of voice and the gestures to be used and make necessary rehearsal
for their proper use. Besides, it has also to be considered where and when
motivation is to be applied. The place and timing for this purpose are
important.
d) Feedback: This involves the finding whether an individual has been
motivated; if not, some other device may be applied.
While establishing the steps of motivation, an executive should be guided by
certain rules. According to Jucius, these rules are:
a) Self-interest and Motivation: People are by nature, selfish. When a person
realises that his own interests are best served by the attainment of an
organisation’s goals, he is likely to be motivated.
b) Attainability: It is necessary to establish goals that are attainable and when
such goals are achieved, it leads to employee satisfaction. Unattainable
goals frustrate people. 59
Intrapersonal Processes c) The Human Element: Motivation appeals to emotions and feelings. The
executive, who is most successful as a motivator, can trace his success
invariably to his skill in dealing with peoples’ feelings. He can bring out
the best in people because he makes them feel good, feel significant, feel
worthwhile, and feel that they are growing.
d) Individual Group Relationship: Motivation must be based upon group as
well as individual-centred stimuli. (e) Managerial Theory: Management
must base its motivational efforts on sound theory.

12.6 TYPES OF MOTIVATION

If a manager wants to get work done by his employees, he may either hold out a
promise of a reward for them for doing work in a better or improved way or
instil fear into them to do the desired work. In other words, he may utilise a
positive or negative motivation. Both these types are widely used by
managements. Positive motivation includes praise and credit for work done,
competition, pride, delegation of responsibility, appreciation, and pay. Positive
motivation leads to a good team spirit, co-operation and feeling of happiness.
Negative motivation is based upon force and fear. Fear causes persons to act in a
certain way because they are afraid of the consequences if they don’t. Fear
motivation is a “push” mechanism. Imposition of punishment frequently results
in frustration among those punished, and an unfavourable attitude to the job. In
spite of these demerits, negative motivation has been used to achieve the desired
behaviour in some cases. There is no management which has not used the negative
motivation at some time or the other. However, in recent years the trend has been
towards the use of positive motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is concerned with external motivators which employees

enjoy — pay, promotion, status, fringe benefits, holidays, retirement plans and
health insurance schemes. By and large, these motivators are associated with
financial rewards. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is concerned with the
feeling of having accomplished something worthwhile, i.e., the satisfaction one
gets after doing one’s work well. Praise, responsibility, recognition, esteem, power
and status are examples of such motivation.

12.7 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

There is no shortage of models, strategies and tactics for motivating employees.
All the theories can broadly be classified as content theories and process theories.

1. Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs: People go to work in order to

satisfy their needs and aspirations. These needs are not constant but they
change according to circumstances status, environment, society, groups,
and so forth. From Prof. A.H. Maslow (1943), we have a theory of motivation
where he identified a hierarchy of needs as shown below.

Maslow argued that as one’s need is met, then the individual moves on to
the next need. First of all, the individual has the basic physiological needs
such as food, shelter, clothing, and works in order to satisfy these needs.
Once these needs are satisfied, the individual moves to a higher plane of
needs. Secondly, an individual has safety needs such as security and
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protection — the need to provide a safe and secure physical and emotional Motivation
environment, an environment that is free from threats to continued existence.
Once these needs are met, the individual moves on to satisfy the third type
of needs called “social needs” or “belongingness needs.” These needs relate
to one’s desire for social acceptance and friendship. The fourth type is self-
respect and self-esteem. The esteem needs focus on one’s desire to have a
positive image to receive recognition, attention and appreciation from others
for one’s contribution. The last type of needs are those of self-fulfilment
and self-actualisation for realising the fullest stature. People who have
become self-actualised are self-fulfilled and have realised their full potential.
Self-actualisation is an individual’s motivation to transform the perception
of self into reality.

SELF
ACTUALISATION

ESTEEM

SOCIAL

SAFETY

PHYSIOLOGICAL

Fig. 12.1

2) McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y: Prof. Douglas McGregor has

presented two opposite sets of assumptions about employees. These have
been represented by Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X represents standard
bureaucratic and authoritarian attitude towards employees and is based on
certain assumptions such as: (i) the average person dislikes work and,
whenever possible, will avoid it; (ii) most people are not ambitious, have
little desire for responsibility and prefer to be directed; (iii) to get people to
work, it is necessary to use strict control, threats, constant pressure, coercion,
persuasion, and even punishment; (iv) most people have little capacity for
creativity in solving organisational problems; and (v) people actually like
to be directed and supervised very closely.

McGregor drawing heavily on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, concluded that

the “theory X assumptions about human nature, when universally applied,
are often inaccurate and that the management approaches that develop from
these assumptions may fail to motivate many individuals to work towards
organisational goals.” He observes: “Management by direction and control
may not succeed because it is a questionable method for motivating people
whose physiological and safety needs are reasonably satisfied and whose
61
Intrapersonal Processes higher level needs are becoming predominant.” He, therefore, developed
an alternative theory of human behaviour called Theory Y. Theory Y assumes
that people are not by nature lazy and unreliable. They enjoy work, show
initiative and imagination in self-direction and self-control. Some
assumptions of Theory Y are: (i) Work is a natural activity, like playing and
rest, if the conditions are favourable. (ii) Close supervision and threats of
punishment are not the only ways to get people to do things. (iii) Motivation
occurs at the social esteem and self-actualisation levels, as well as at the
physiological and security levels. (iv) People can be self-directed and be
creative at work if properly motivated.

3) Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory: A significant development in motivation

research was made by Frederick Herzberg (1959) and associates who
distinguished between motivational and maintenance factors in the work
situation. Maintenance of hygiene factors are those which belong to the
company policies and administration, supervision, inter-personal relations,
working conditions, pay, job security, personal life, status. Herzberg3
propounds that these factors help in removing discomfort, dissatisfaction
and discontent on the part of the employees but are not motivators as
traditionally perceived by management. These potent dissatisfiers are called
maintenance factors on the job because they are necessary to maintain a
reasonable level of satisfaction in employees. They are also known as hygiene
factors because they support employees’ mental health. But in themselves,
they are not motivators according to Herzberg and his team. The real
motivators that primarily build strong motivation and high job satisfaction
among employees are achievement, recognition, advancement, work itself,
possibility of growth, and responsibility. According to Herzberg, the
motivating factors are intrinsic to the job, while the maintenance and hygiene
factors are extrinsic to it.

According to Dumette, Campbell and Hakel (1967), Herzberg’s Motivation

Hygiene Theory has accomplished three important objectives:
1) It has discovered those features of job situation that make the difference
between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
2) Unlike the tradition of most previous research it emphasises those
job features that lead to change in feelings towards the job.
3) It developed a taxanomy of job situations consisting of satisfying and
dissatisfying features. Satisfying features which the employees would
like to attain and the dissatisfying features that they would like to
avoid.
Herzberg’s theory has, however, been criticised by many authors. For
example, Keith Davis has observed that a limited testing of the model on
blue-collar workers suggests that some items normally considered as
maintenance factors are frequently considered motivational factors by the
blue-collar workers. Some authorities doubted whether the factors leading
to satisfaction and dissatisfaction are really different from each other. In
less developed countries, it is likely that workers will designate some of the
maintenance factors or hygiene factors as motivators, since they are yet to
meet some of their lower order needs.
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4) McClelland’s Theory of Motivation: McClelland’s theory (1953) is quite Motivation
extensive and involved. His contribution in developing the concepts of need
for achievement and need for power is of great significance. According to
him, two motives are innate, namely, striving for pleasure and seeking to
avoid displeasure or pain. All the other motives are acquired.
According to him people can be classified into two broad groups — one
small and the other large. Those falling in the small group are challenged
by opportunities and are willing to work hard to achieve some goal. People
in the large group, on the other hand, have less need of achievement and are
not so challenged by opportunities.
Achievement-oriented people possess certain characteristics. They prefer a
moderate degree of risk because they feel that their efforts and abilities will
probably influence the outcome. In business, such people are successful
entrepreneurs; and the organisation with many such people grows faster
and is profitable.
McClelland differentiates between personal power and institutional or social
power. Individuals high in need for personal power like to inspire
subordinates and expect the latter to respect and obey them. Managers who
are high in institutional power, however, tend to exert authority and influence
so as to achieve the goals of the organisation rather than to gain any personal
ego satisfaction.
5) Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Expectancy Theory, as applied to behaviour
at work, has been formulated mainly by Victor H. Vroom (1964). It explains
that motivation is a product of the values one seeks and one’s expectations
of the probability that a certain action will lead to those values. According
to this theory, an employee’s motivation is a force driving him to achieve
some level of job performance. The force or effort depends upon his
perception of the probability or likelihood of certain outcomes resulting
from his efforts, as related to the value he places on these outcomes. For
example, if an employee believes that if he performs at a high level, he will
be paid a higher income which is of value to him, then he will produce
more. In achieving a high level of performance, he has the satisfaction which,
in turn, influences his future effort. The essence of this theory is that an
employee performs a kind of cost-benefit analysis. If the estimated benefit
is enough to justify the cost of greater effort he is likely to put in greater
effort.
6) Skinner’s Behaviourist Theory: The Harvard University Psychologist,
Prof. Skinner (1953), has contributed a new concept of motivating people
and the concept is variously called “behaviour technology”, “behaviour
modification” or “positive reinforcement.” Prof. Skinner suggests that people
perform better and gain better in psychological satisfaction on the job when
they receive proper appreciation and praise for their good work.
7) Likert’s Employee-Centred Approach: Rennis Likert4 (1961-67) believes
that as organisations move from a highly exploitative autocratic system to a
democratic style, they will meet the needs of human beings and become
productive organisations. Likert and his colleagues conducted research at
the University of Michigan, and came to the conclusion that “both human
resources and capital resources need to be considered as assets requiring
63
Intrapersonal Processes proper management.” They also suggested that if a supervisor wants to
motivate his workers, he should be “employee-centred” rather than “job-
centred.”

8) Argyris (1957-64): He feels that organisations treat individuals in the system

as children, assigned to them simple tasks, and create dependence in them
by exercising too much control over them. This is dysfunctional to healthy
humans and results in frustration and a lack of work role involvement.
Argyris argues that by giving increased responsibility, a broader range of
tasks, and independence, employees will reach their potential and increase
their productivity. Thus, by treating individuals like mature adults,
organisations can increase productivity while at the same time meet the
needs of individuals for independence and growth.

9) Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler (1968): They came up with a

comprehensive theory of motivation. If the reward to be obtained is attractive
or of expected utility, then the individual will decide to put in the necessary
effort to perform the job. If the expected reward is not so, he will lower his
efforts. In addition, the individual performing the job should also have
accurate role perceptions. Role perceptions refers to the way in which people
define their jobs. We often hear managers say that the job is what the
employee makes of it. Some people may take on additional responsibilities
and expand the scope of their job. Others may avoid some aspects of their
job and hence narrow its scope. Thus, people may perceive their roles
differently.

Porter and Lawler’s model is of great significance to managers since it

sensitises them to focus attention on the following to keep their employees
motivated:
1) Put the right person on the right job.
2) Carefully explain to employees what their role is, and make sure they
understand it.
3) Prescribe in concrete terms the actual performance levels expected of
the individuals.
4) Make sure that the rewards dispensed are valued by the employee.
That is, find out what kind of rewards are appropriate and attractive
to the employee and see if such rewards can be given to them.
10) Goal-setting theory: Goal-setting is one of the most effective and widely
practised tools of motivation. Goals are the immediate or ultimate objectives
that employees are trying to accomplish from their work efforts in
organisations. Goals lead employees to compare their present performance
with the goals laid down. When individuals succeed in reaching a goal,
they feel competent and successful. Goals need to fulfil certain requisites if
they were to impact employee behaviour. One requirement is that goals
must be specific. Similarly, organisational support towards goal attainment
supported by individual abilities and traits leads to goal realisation.

Goal-setting theory is a very powerful technique of motivation. When used

correctly, carefully monitored, and actively supported by managers, goal-
setting can improve performance.
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Motivation
Activity 1
Think of a person, who in the past did an excellent job of motivating you.
Which of the following approaches did he use? Why?
a) Lower order or high order needs
b) Motivational or maintenance factors
c) ERG needs
d) Behaviour modification
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12.8 ECONOMIC AND NON-ECONOMIC

MOTIVATION
Economic motivation is connected directly or indirectly with money. Factors
such as wages and salary, bonuses, profit- sharing, leave with pay, medical
reimbursement, and the like are included under this type of motivation. Money
is a means through which one can satisfy higher-order needs.

Frederick Taylor (1911), proposed an economic view of man over seven decades
ago. He suggested that man is essentially motivated by economic reward and the
industrial management should reckon with this point of view. He operationalised
his philosophy in what has come to be known as scientific management. One
major component of scientific management is its emphasis on how money can
be used to maximise productivity. The practice of piece rate payment system is a
direct outcome of such a thinking. With the advent of the human relations
movement, the emphasis on money as a motivator is toned down to some extent.
However, in the Indian context, money still seems to play a very significant role
in influencing job satisfaction and productivity of an average Indian employee.

Non-economic motivators are not connected with monetary rewards. In the words
of Dubin, “non-financial incentives are the psychic rewards, or the rewards of
enhanced position, that can be secured in the work organisation.” Some of the
most commonly used non-financial motivators are:
(a) appraisal, praise and prestige; (b) status and pride; (c) competition; (d)
delegation of authority;
(e) participation; (f) job security; (g) job enlargement; (h) job rotation; (i) job
loading; (j) job enrichment; and (k) quality of work life.
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Intrapersonal Processes
12.9 REWARDING SYSTEMS
One of the important attributes of work organisation is its ability to give rewards
to their members. Pay, promotions, fringe benefits, and status symbols are perhaps
the most important rewards. Because these rewards are important, the way they
are distributed have a profound effect on the quality of work-life as well as on
the effectiveness of organisations.

There are several principles for setting up an effective reward system in an

organisation.

• Give value to the reward system. Employees must have a preference for the
types of rewards being offered. Many employees prefer cash awards and
plaques. Some employees like to see their name in the company newsletter.
Others like the public recognition surrounding award ceremonies.

• Make the reward system simple to understand. Elaborate procedures for

evaluating performance, filling out forms, and review by several levels of
management lead to confusion. The system must be easy to understand if it
is to be used effectively.
• Lay down performance standards within the control of the team.
• Make the reward system fair and effective.
• Ensure participation in the reward system.
Involve people in the change process and empower them to do the needful. Most
organisations use several different types of rewards. The most common are wages
or salary, incentive systems, benefits perquisites, and awards. For most people,
the most important reward for work is the pay they receive. For one thing, an
effectively planned and administered pay system can improve motivation and
performance.

Examples of recognition and rewards include money, plaques, trophies,

certificates or citations, public recognition, time off official perquisites, special
assignments, parties or celebrations or other meaningful considerations.

Incentive systems are plans in which employees can earn additional compensation
in return for certain types of performance. Examples of incentive programmes
include piece work, gain-sharing, bonus, merit pay plans, profit sharing plans,
and so on. Another major component of reward system is the employee benefits
plan. These include payment for time not worked both on and off, the social
security contributions, life and health insurance measures.

Perquisites are special privileges, rewarded to selected members of an

organisation, usually senior managers. For years, the top executives of many
businesses were allowed privileges such as air travels paid, vacations, a car and
a driver, mobile phone, furnished accommodation and so on.

Money may not actually motivate people. Surprisingly, there is no clear evidence
that increased earnings will necessarily lead to higher performance. A great deal
of research has been done on what determines whether an individual will be
satisfied with the rewards he or she receives from a situation. Five conclusions
66 can be reached about what determines satisfaction with rewards.
First, satisfaction with a reward is a function of both how much is received and Motivation
how much the individual feels should be received. When individuals receive
less than they feel they should receive, they are dissatisfied. When they receive
more than they feel they should, they tend to feel guilty and uncomfortable.
These feelings are overcome by a change in the way an individual perceives the
situation, for instance, by an increase in his perception of his own work.

Second, people’s feelings of satisfaction are influenced by comparisons with

what happens to others. These comparisons are made both inside and outside the
organisations they work in, but they are usually made with similar people.
Individuals tend to rate their inputs higher than others.

Third, in addition to obvious extrinsic rewards individuals receive (e.g., pay,

promotion, status symbols), they also may experience internal feelings that are
rewarding to them. These include feelings of competence, achievement, personal
growth, and self-esteem. The overall job satisfaction of most people is determined
both by how they feel about their intrinsic rewards and how they feel about their
extrinsic rewards.

Fourth, people differ widely in the rewards they desire and in how important the
different rewards are to them. Probably the most frequently and hotly debated
topic in this area concerns how important the different rewards are to employees.
One group says money is the most important, another says interesting work is.
Both groups, of course, are able to find examples to support their point of view,
since for some people money is most important while for others jobs content is
the most important. People differ substantially and in meaningful ways in what
is important to them.

Fifth, many extrinsic rewards are important and satisfying only because they
lead to other rewards. There is nothing inherently variable about many of the
things which people seek in organisations. They are important only because they
lead to other things or because of their symbolic value.

Organisations typically rely on reward systems to do four things: (a) motivate

employees to perform effectively, (b) motivate employees to join the
organisation, (c) motivate employees to come to work, and (d) reinforce the
organisational structure by indicating the position of different individuals in the
organisation.

An effective reward system should link reward to performance. Workers who

work harder and produce more or produce better quality results should receive
greater rewards than poor performers. Also, criteria for receiving rewards should
be clear and workers should know whether they will receive rewards for quality
performance, innovation, effort or attendance. Management must ensure that
workers perceive the distribution of rewards as equitable. Furthermore, for
organisations to attract, motivate and retain qualified and competent employees,
they must offer rewards comparable to their competitors.

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Intrapersonal Processes
12.10 HOW TO IMPROVE MOTIVATION?
It is very difficult to answer the question “What motivates people?” Many factors
have been listed above. There may be several other factors, but probably the
most important would be the need for satisfaction. Keeping this in view the
following are suggested:
• Adequate and fair compensation.
• Safe and healthy working conditions.
• Security and growth opportunity.
• Opportunity to use and develop creativity.
• Respect for the individuals’ personal rights.
• Work and family life.
Table 12.1: What Motivates You

The following self-assessment questionnaire may help to illustrate the relative

importance of different motivational factors.Rank each item below in order
of importance to you. Compare your results with your colleagues. What do
they imply?
Pay

Good colleagues

Pleasant working environment

Promotion prospects

Fringe benefits

Holidays

Hours of work

Sense of achievement

Job challenge

Variety

Security

Recognition

Training

Status

Doing a worthwhile job

Interesting work

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Motivation
Activity 2
Supervisors of your organisation often complain that they are unable to
really motivate their subordinates to high levels of performance because of
organisational policies. To what extent do you believe that this position is
legitimate in your organisation?
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12.11 SUMMARY
• The word motivation is derived from motive that is defined as an active
form of desire, craving or need that must be satisfied.
• Motivation is getting people to do what you want them to do because they
want to do it (Dwight D. Eisenhower).
• Motives can be primary and secondary.
• All motives are directed towards goals.
• Motivation in simple terms may be understood as the set of forces that
cause people to behave in certain ways.
• Motivation is the consequence of an interaction between the individual and
the situation.
• Some of the motivational sources are positive motivation, negative or fear
motivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation.
• Motivation can be positive that requires appreciating employee’s efforts
resulting in better performance or it could be negative that induces fear and
punishment for less efforts.
• The motivating process centres on needs, which produce motives that lead
to the accomplishment of objectives.
• The content theories cover: (a) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; (b) Alderfer’s
ERG theory;
(c) David McClelland’s achievement motivation theory; and (d) Frederick
Herzberg’s two-factor theory.
• The content theories essentially focus on finding out what is it that motivates
people at work.
• The process theories include: (a) Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory; (b)
Porter-Lawler theory; (c) Equity theory; (d) Goal-setting theory; and (e)
Attribution theory.
• The belief that a particular level of effort will be followed by a particular
level of performance is called expectancy.
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Intrapersonal Processes • According to the expectancy theory, Motivation is: Expectancy x
Instrumentality x Valance
• Instrumentality is the perception by an individual that first-level outcomes
are associated with second-level outcomes.
• Valance is an individual’s preference for a second-level outcome; the fourth
element in the expectancy model.
• Valance can have values ranging from negative to positive.
• Goal-setting theory is a relatively applied approach to motivation and is
based upon the assumption that the type of goal as well as the degree of
challenge in it would determine the degree of motivation in the individual
to achieve such a goal.
• Though, no single theory is successful in bringing out all the complexities
of motivation, all of them collectively help us in understanding the behaviour
of employees.
• The MBO approach is a significant contribution to motivation process.
• The types of rewards that an organisation offers to its employees play a
critical role in determining the level of motivation.
• In addition, rewards have an impact on the quality and quantity of personnel
that the organisation is able to recruit, hire, and retain.
• Employees can be motivated, both as individuals and members of groups.
• Organisational rewards include both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
• The traditional theory is based on the assumption that money is a primary
motivator – employees will produce more for greater financial gain.
• Usually, organisations go for a combination of monetary and non-monetary
incentives.

12.12 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) What do you mean by motivation? Describe the theories on motivation.
2) Why motivation is a critical issue of interest to managers in organisations?
3) Compare and contrast Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs with
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation.
4) Discuss the salient features of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and
show its relevance to the Indian situation.
5) Evaluate the early and contemporary theories of motivation.
6) “Most people can be motivated with money.” Discuss your views on this
statement.

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Motivation
12.13 FURTHER READINGS
Aswathappa, K., Organisational Behaviour – Text, Cases and Games, Himalaya
Publishing House, Mumbai, 2009.
Davis, K., Human Behavior at Work, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, 2000.
McShane, S.L., and Vanglinow, M.A., Organisational Behavior, Tata McGraw-
Hill, 2000.
Nelson, D.L., and Quick, J.C., Organizational Behavior, Cengage Learning, New
Delhi, 2010.

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