Understanding Motivational Theories

This assignment delves into the realm of motivational theories, examining diverse perspectives on what drives human behavior. It explores key theories such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, social learning theory, and goal-setting theory, analyzing their underlying principles and real-world applications. The document also discusses the impact of motivational factors in various contexts, including education, workplace, and personal development.

Assessment paper- 2 Managing People Value
Introduction
This report evaluates and analyzes leaders or a person in a position of influence in the
healthcare sector worked before and how their motivational skills or techniques have
had an influence on fellow medical staff and other employees in the health facility.
Motivation refers to the set of factors or actions that influence the people to behave or
act in particular desired manner. Motivation factors are both external and internal
factors and they contribute towards the attainment of a pre-determined goal or
objective1. This task discusses the motivation methods and techniques used by a
doctor who was in charge of a clinic I worked in for11 months. The clinic was located
in a town area in India. I liked to share my previous experience. There were very
many challenges that faced the health workers who worked in this clinic and this
region and general. The Doctor was very experienced and despite the challenges in
the shortage of staff and poor infrastructure, the employees were able to achieve
extraordinary targets and to provide medical services to the public effectively and
efficiently. This task describes the importance and significance of motivational
methods in the healthcare sector and how application of these methods helps in
meeting the objectives of the organization.
Human resources are very vital in the provision of high quality and efficient health
care services. They help in making the health care system of a country or region
effective and hence improving the quality of health care2. Due to this reason, there is a
very great need to motivate the healthcare workers so as to help them in meeting their
personal and organizational objective. In the healthcare service provision, motivation
is defined as the degree of willingness of an individual to exert and maintain an effort
towards achieving the goals and objectives of the health care organization or
institution in which they are working.
1.Jaidyn Mcreynolds, Motivational Theories & Psychology (New Delhi: World
Technologies, 2012).
2.Lewis R Aiken, Attitudes And Related Psychosocial Constructs (Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications, 2002).

Motivation is closely linked to job satisfaction which helps to retain workers at their
job for a long period of time. Health workers retention helps to significantly reduce
the costs if having to recruit, hire, and train new employees.
Highly motivated employees reduce the likelihood of changes in job positions or
organizations3. This helps a healthcare organization or institution to maintain
employees who are highly experienced and hence offer high- quality services to the
public4.
The doctor in charge of the healthcare facility that I worked in for11 months was
excellent in motivating his staff. The healthcare facility faced many challenges
compared to the other healthcare facilities in the region5. The doctor came up with
incentive and reward schemes which motivated workers to stay focused and to work
towards the attainment of the goals and objectives of the health facility. The health
facility was had about eight healthcare workers and was expected to serve more than
5,000 people who depended on it to get medical services. The doctor who was in
charge of the facility came up with methods that were it helped to keep employees
motivate all the time despite the tough working conditions experienced.6
3.Barbra Teater, An Introduction To Applying Social Work Theories And Methods
(Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014).
4.Helen Mentha, "Motivational Dialogue: Preparing Addiction Professionals For
Motivational Interviewing Practice", Drug and Alcohol Review 27, no. 5 (2008): 574-
575.
5.Rachel Johnson, "Motivational Interviewing With Adolescents And Young Adults",
Motivational Interviewing: Training, Research, Implementation, Practice 1, no. 2
(2013): 20.
6.William R. Miller, PhD, "Motivational Interviewing And Social Justice",
Motivational Interviewing: Training, Research, Implementation, Practice 1, no. 2
(2013).

The doctor applied various theories of motivation to ensure that workers give their
best at the workplace which contributed to the attainment of the goals and objectives
of the organization.
This means that the absence of motivator factors did not lead to dissatisfaction and
lack of motivation while the presence of the hygiene factors did not necessarily mean
that the employee will be more satisfied. The director in charge of the facility was
able to apply this theory perfectly. The doctor made the workers feel appreciated and
wanted and this gives them the desire to work harder and repay back the support they
received from the manager. The director also provided the best working conditions by
ensuring safety for healthcare workers and ensuring that the workplace is comfortable
for working7. The doctor who was the director in charge of the healthcare facility gave
attention to the needs and problems of every single employee and this made the
employees working at the facility feel like a family.
The Maslow`s theory of hierarchy of needs was also used by the doctor who was the
director of the facility. The Maslow hierarchy of needs theory was developed by a
psychologist by the name Abraham Maslow in 19438. The theory basically suggests
that the motivation of an individual depends on the fulfillment of a series of needs that
arranged in a hierarchical manner. The needs that appeared at the bottom of the
pyramid which was the most basic needs must be fulfilled for the needs high up the
pyramid to be fulfilled. Maslow`s hierarchy of needs contained the following levels of
needs;
Physiological needs- These are basic needs that a human being must meet for basic
survival. The physiological needs need to be met before other needs are met. The
physiological needs include food, water, and shelter.
7.Julian Le Grand and Jonathan Roberts, "The Public Service Mutual: Theories Of
Motivational Advantage", Public Administration Review (2017).
8.Josie Geller, "What A Motivational Approach Is And What A Motivational
Approach Isn't: Reflections And Responses", European Eating Disorders Review 10,
no. 3 (2002): 155-160.

1. Safety:
The need for safety refers to the need for an individual to feel protected from physical
and psychological harm. Different people have different fears in life. It is therefore
important that people are safe and secure before they can think of fulfilling the needs
higher up the ladder.
Employees need personal and financial security for them to perform well in their
work. Proper health is also part of the safety for employees9. The organization
provided safety for employees and also offered employees reasonable salaries which
made them feel financially secure.
2. Love/belonging:
The psychological need for love is very important to every human being. For a person
to be motivated when doing anything, it is important that the person feels loved by the
people around them. Loving and being loved gives an individual a feeling of
recognition and self- importance that is very crucial in the attainment of objectives of
the organization. A person needs to feel loved by friends and family as well as get
involved in relationships so that their desire to work can be improved. The doctor in
charge of the facility in which I worked showed his juniors love and made them they
belong to the organization and that they had everything required to make it within the
organization10. The doctor also encouraged employees to show love and appreciation
for one another. The organization was celebrated a staff gathering and they arranged
an outing with staffs family. It made a staffs happy and unity among with them. This
factor played a huge role in motivating employees and attainment of organizational
objectives.
3. Esteem:
The need to feel confident and be respected by the people we interact with is what
contributes to self- esteem. An individual with high self- esteem is more productive
than an individual whose esteem is very low.
9.A.S. Luthra, "P-143: Classification Of Behaviors In Dementia Based In
”Motivational” And ”Needs Based” Theories", European Geriatric Medicine 6
(2015): S70.

10.A. Timur Sevincer, Lena Kluge and Gabriele Oettingen, "Implicit Theories And
Motivational Focus: Desired Future Versus Present Reality", Motivation and Emotion
38, no. 1 (2013): 36-46.
The doctor showed respect and appreciation for every individual working in the
facility irrespective of their level of education or social class. This factor played a
very crucial role in drawing energies and motivation from workers to perform.
4. Self-actualization:
This need is high up the pyramid of needs. Self- actualization is the desire and
believes that one can achieve and become everything they want and are determined to
become self- actualization gives the employees desire to do and achieve things that
they think are behold their reach and hence achieve extraordinary performance11.
Before reaching this level, an individual has to fulfill all the needs that fall in the
levels below this. The doctor motivated and created a belief among employees that
they could develop their career and become senior in the organization and behold.
The expectancy theory was also applied by the director of the health organization in
which I worked. The theory of expectancy proposes that people choose to behave in a
particular manner depending on the expected outcomes of their behavior patterns. An
individual decides in the action to take depending on their projected outcome of their
behaviors and actions12. When an individual expects a positive outcome when they
behave in a particular manner, they are more likely to behave in that particular
manner. Their motivation is determined by what they expect to come out of their
effort or actions. For example, when an employee expects to be promoted or to get
allowances as a result of working extra hours, they are likely to be motivated by the
outcome of better salaries and hence achieve better results which contribute to the
achievement of organizational objectives. The expectancy theory is based on three
elements which include: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Instrumentality is
the belief that a person will be rewarded when they meet expectations.
11.Raymond J. Wlodkowski, "Making Sense Out Of Motivation: A Systematic Model
To Consolidate Motivational Constructs Across Theories", Educational Psychologist
16, no. 2 (1981): 101-110.

12.Barbra Teater, An Introduction To Applying Social Work Theories And Methods
(Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014).
Valence is the value that a person places the reward and hence it determines the
levels of motivation of the employee in order to achieve the objective. There were
various reward schemes in the health center and they were mostly based on the
number of extra hours worked.
The reward system of the health facility was also based on the level of customer
satisfaction which was measured by the feedback of customers at the end of the year.
The rewards given were of high value and these motivated employees to go extra
miles to achieve get the reward13. This factor contributed significantly to good
customer service and to the attainment of the general organizational objectives.
McGregor`s theory of participation was also prominently used by the director of the
healthcare institutions described in the report. The theory is based on two distinct
views of participation of people. The first view is negative and it is labeled Theory X
while the second is positive and its labeled Theory Y. The assumptions of theory X is
that people are indolent by nature and they lack ambition, dislike responsibility, and
prefer to be directed. The theory also assumes that people are inherently self-centered
and are indifferent to the needs and goals of the organization. Theory Y assumes that
people are not passive in nature and are resistant to the goals of the organization since
sometimes they may not be in line with their individual needs14. The theory also
assumes that people want to assume responsibility and they want the organization to
succeed. The director of the facility used these assumptions to design motivation
techniques that helped to motivate employees.
13.Craig C Pinder, Work Motivation In Organizational Behavior (New York:
Psychology Press, Taylor and Francis, 2014).
14.JULIA NAFZIGER, "Motivational Job Assignments", Economica 78, no. 312
(2010): 676-696.
Conclusion

This paper evaluates and discusses the motivational techniques used by the director
who was the head of a health institution I worked for earlier. The paper discusses the
motivational methods that the doctor used and they provided outstanding results
which contributed significantly to the attainment of the goals of the organization. The
motivational techniques fall under different theories of motivation. These theories are
discussed and their application in motivating health workers is discussed. Some of the
motivational theories applied include; Herzberg's Two-factor theory, Maslow`s
Hierarchy of needs theory, the expectancy theory and McGregor`s theory of
participation. These theories are discussed in detail and the impact that they have on
employee performance is also discussed in this paper.

References
1.Mcreynolds, Jaidyn. Motivational Theories & Psychology. New Delhi: World
Technologies, 2012.
2.Aiken, Lewis R. Attitudes And Related Psychosocial Constructs. Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications, 2002.http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452233659
3.Teater, Barbra. An Introduction To Applying Social Work Theories And Methods.
Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.ISBN-13: 978-0335237784
4.Mentha, Helen. "Motivational Dialogue: Preparing Addiction Professionals For
Motivational Interviewing Practice". Drug and Alcohol Review 27, no. 5 (2008): 574-
575.ISBN-13: 978-1583912959
5.Johnson, Rachel. "Motivational Interviewing With Adolescents And Young
Adults". Motivational Interviewing: Training, Research, Implementation, Practice 1,
no. 2 (2013): 20.ISBN 978-0-19-995818-4
6.Miller, PhD, William R. "Motivational Interviewing And Social Justice".
Motivational Interviewing: Training, Research, Implementation, Practice 1, no. 2
(2013).ISBN 978-2-7296-1361-7
7.Le Grand, Julian, and Jonathan Roberts. "The Public Service Mutual: Theories Of
Motivational Advantage". Public Administration Review (2017).ISBN
9780387939940.
8.Geller, Josie. "What A Motivational Approach Is And What A Motivational
Approach Isn't: Reflections And Responses". European Eating Disorders Review 10,
no. 3 (2002): 155-160.
9.Luthra, A.S. "P-143: Classification Of Behaviors In Dementia Based In
”Motivational” And ”Needs Based” Theories". European Geriatric Medicine 6
(2015): S70.

10.Sevincer, A. Timur, Lena Kluge, and Gabriele Oettingen. "Implicit Theories And
Motivational Focus: Desired Future Versus Present Reality". Motivation and Emotion
38, no. 1 (2013): 36-46.
11.Wlodkowski, Raymond J. "Making Sense Out Of Motivation: A Systematic Model
To Consolidate Motivational Constructs Across Theories". Educational Psychologist
16, no. 2 (1981): 101-110.
12.Teater, Barbra. An Introduction To Applying Social Work Theories And Methods.
Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.ISBN13 9780335247639
13.Pinder, Craig C. Work Motivation In Organizational Behavior. New York:
Psychology Press, Taylor and Francis, 2014.ISBN-10: 0805856048
14.NAFZIGER, JULIA. "Motivational Job Assignments". Economica 78, no. 312
(2010): 676-696.