Motivational Theories In The Workplace

For Human Resource departments, finding ways to motivate employees can be frustrating. Some Human Resource departments use incentives like days off or even big ticket items like tablets for rewards. Others use monetary motivation like extra pay for a few hours or even a bonus check. Understanding the theories that drive motivation will help a manager or even Human Resources department find what while work for their employees. For this assignment, I am going to describe and discuss several motivation theories. In order for a managing team to be successful an understanding of these basic theories is the key for success.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss motivation in the workplace. To have a successful company, employee must be motivated enough to work and get the job done. One way have success in the workplace is to define the morale and motivate employees. The human resource department or the manager are typically the personnel to identify the employees needs by either observing the generation, the psychological contract, or the main theories that were postulated by Victor Vroom (Vroom's expectancy theory), Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs), Frederick Herzberg (theory of motivation), Douglas McGregor (theory X and Y).

Motivation in the workplace is often an ongoing problem for employers. Proper motivation is a key element in keeping employees driven to do good work and to finish tasks on time. There are several methods of motivation that help employees stay productive within an organization, and the means of motivation can vary wildly from person to person. Simply stated, different methods of motivation drive people differently. Webster’s dictionary says motivation is something inside people that drives them to action. In other words, it is the willingness to work at an

Maslow’s, McClelland’s, and Herzberg’s theories can fundamentally motivate an employee to either engage in a positive or negative manner. The needs of an individual can be general, resulting in job satisfaction and content, or all-consuming, resulting in unethical behavior or contentment.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow established a theory of motivation to justify how people in diverse organizations behave. His human requirements theory states that humans are never completely satisfied; that they crave satisfaction and those requirements can be classified into a hierarchy based upon importance. The lowest level of importance includes peoples’ desire to satisfy their physical needs, such as hunger and thirst. Following the lowest level, individuals need basic security and stability. After physical and safety needs are satisfied, individuals have the desire to gain acceptance into a group and to establish meaningful relationships. Once this need is somewhat fulfilled, one will strive for self-confidence and personal achievement. Lastly, an individual must realize their potential or they will become dissatisfied and discontent. This theory assists managers to motivate subordinates in a diverse workplace by ensuring low-level needs are met first. Then, management will be able to pursue supervising employees as they complete more multifaceted tasks. An effective manager influences employees positively by creating a safe work environment, providing the necessary tools and resources and involving employees in decision-making processes (Maslow, 1943, 1954).

According to DuBrin, “…motivation is an energizing force that stimulates arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior” (2004, p. 121). It is the force inside the individual and process which allows us to get others to put forth effort. There are many motivational theories that can be used to motivate others (DuBrin, 2004).

The Hawthrone Studies conducted by Elton Mayo between 1924 and 1932, showed that employees are not just motivated by the money, “outcomes,” but their attitudes, “needs” as well. Initiating the human relations approach to management and the needs and motivation of employees was the primary concentre of managers. In short, both Maslow and Adams theories can be considered Equity theories of motivation.

The term motivation is derived from the Latin word movere, meaning "to move." Basically motivation is a force which is acting on or within a person that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of any goal. Motivation theory is thus concerned with the processes that explain why and how human behavior is activated.

Abraham Maslow’s theory about motivation suggested that motivation is about to meet human needs. (Pichère P, et al., 2015) In today’s society, motivation is usually defined as the desire of achieving a goal, leading to goal-directed behavior. So why is motivation so important at work? This is because actual productivity of an organization is thought to be dependent on the level of motivation of employees. In another word, people who are motivated will try harder to accomplish the given task, which will increase the productivity and make it more efficient to achieve the organizational goals.

When working within any organization, it is important to make each person feel as if they are wanted and that they are needed. How can this be done? Motivation! To do this, team leaders and mangers need to motivate everyone in a positive manner to do their best and to always attempt to find new ways to create aa positive atmosphere in the workplace. In the article Organizational Communication: Communication and Motivation in the Workplace, it states, “The importance role of motivation to encourage employee morale in completing the work is very needed.” (Ramadanty, Martinus, 2016).

One skill that managers and leaders must be able to exhibit is the ability to motivate their employees. Administrators in all fields must find ways to hire, retain, and motivate employees (Kroth, 2007). Workplace motivation is a result of a set of internal and external forces that cause an employee to choose an appropriate course of action and engage in certain behaviors (Newstrom, 2015). Motivation also requires discovering and understanding employee drives and needs, since it originates within an individual (Newstrom, 2015). The beginning stages of motivation stem from the manager and their behaviors, and also the employee and their drive. As we know, people tend to develop certain motivational drives as a product of the cultural environment in which they live (Newstrom, 2015). Engstrom Auto mirror plant began to face a recession in productivity and employee motivation, while also facing a downturn in the industrial field as well. The plant adopted the Scanlon Plan, the plan was originated by Joseph Scanlon in the 1930’s in order to help small, distressed companies (Beers & Collins, 2008). Problems began to develop at Engstrom when the company began to redesign product lines to incorporate new technology. The long production delays resulted in alienated customers, and the plant manager lacked the proper knowledge in regards to the new technology. The plant manager was let go and Ron Bent was hired to attempt a turnaround. Bent and Hayley had confidence in incentive

Motivation acts a force to energize and direct behavior in the workplace (Myers 329) so that employees perform tasks to a high degree. It is motivation that retains employees in a company because improper motivation acts as a deterrent to productivity and joy. Whether physiological, emotional, or incentive based, motivation affects our lives everyday and induces our natural drive to thrive and succeed. Many psychological theories explain the different ways employees may become motivated, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two factor theory, and theory Y, based on how appealing a stimuli may be to an employee’s needs.

What are motivational theories, and how can these theories help to motivate individuals within the workplace. Motivational theories were designed to drive people to be motivated, to meet company goals; and expectation within the organization. One of those theories is the hierarchy of needs, the second is hunters intrinsic/extrinsic theory; both theories would be beneficial in Bill Lawrence’s actions while helping him to become more motivation, self-sufficient; and accountable. While everyone has some form of need from time to time, some people also need some form of motivation; the usage of these motivational theories will help in meeting those expectations. So, what is a need and what is a motivation, “a need, in effect gives a

The main objective of any company is to be successful. In order to be successful, the employees that have been entrusted with meeting the goals of the organization must be motivated. Management must understand and relay the importance of motivation by assessing their employees’ performance. Provide constructive feedback on their subordinates’ performance as well as rewarding those who have exceeded expectations and providing training to those who have underperformed. Investing resources into a company’s human capital can positively influence the quality of work that is performed, therefore increasing the firm’s competitive advantage (Lorenzat and Cook).

Motivational management seems straightforward at first, until you take into consideration all the different elements that encompass a successful business. In order to keep a company in the forefront of its market as well as retaining quality employees, managers need to be aware of all these elements. They range from the sociological, demographic, economic and psychological state of the community or individual at a point in time. That is to say that what motivated employees in the early 20th century does not necessarily motivate them in the 21st century. For a manager to create a work environment that is conducive to success it is necessary to learn all of the different theories that surround the skill of motivating employees. It is also necessary to stay in contact with the current social and economic conditions of the individuals that one manages.