Motivation in Organizational Behaviour

This essay elaborates on the main motivational theories that can help in increasing the engagement of the employees in an organization. The essay also makes use of examples for supporting arguments and it discusses about the practical implication of theories in organizations.

Running head: MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Motivation in Organizational Behaviour
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MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Introduction
Organizational Behaviour refers to study of the human behaviour within the
organizational setting. It acts as interface between that of human behaviour and organization.
Organizational Behaviour is the study of the individuals and the work groups within the
framework of an organization. The study of the organizational behaviour can help in
maximising output from that of individual group member (Stoyanov 2017). Motivation refers
to set of the forces that helps people in choosing certain behaviour from the various
alternatives that are available to an individual. The performance of an employee is influenced
by the aspect of motivation along with work environment. Motivation is of great significance
as it helps in determining performance within an organization. This essay elaborates on the
main motivational theories that can help in increasing the engagement of the employees in an
organization. The essay also makes use of examples for supporting arguments and it
discusses about the practical implication of theories in organizations.
Need Hierarchy Theory of Maslow
There are various motives that influence the behaviour and the performance of people
in an organization. According to Masri, Ahmad and Rani (2018), the motivational theories
helps in providing a framework that helps in motivating the staff in an organization so that
work is carried out effectively. An important theory in relation to motivation in organization
is Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory. This theory states that people within the organization
can be motivated owing to the five basic need. The needs are generally arranged in order of
its importance in relation to the person who wants to gratify it. The basic needs that an
individual has are physiological, need of safety, need of belonging, need for that of esteem
and the need pertaining to self-actualization. The physiological needs that an individual has is
in relation to food, clothing along with shelter. The need of safety that an individual has
pertains to that of job security. It has been argued by Lawler (2017), that an individual
working in an organization should be accepted by a group and bestowed love that can prove
to be useful in increasing the efficiency of performance of an individual in an organization.
An individual has the need of being recognized by other people that can help an individual in
getting a feeling of achievement that can serve an individual. An individual in the
organization also has the need of self-actualization that is related to the fulfilment of the
capacities of an individual.

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The theory of Maslow has been under criticism and it has been criticized by that of
David McClelland who has said that the human needs cannot be identified in that of five
separate stage or hierarchy. The drawback of the Maslow theory is on account of the fact that
time in between satisfaction of need and the higher one can hardly be determined in an
organization. The extent up to which the needs can be satisfied differs on the basis of
individuals and it can hence be stated that this theory cannot improve the aspect of employee
engagement in an organization. According to Healy (2016), the jobs in the present age are
becoming better rewarded and they are instrumental in providing more amount of security. In
the present age, marginal utility will undergo decline and the marginal utility of the non-
economic benefits would increase in the present age. It can hence be said that Maslow’s
theory of motivation may not be applicable in the present age in increasing the engagement of
the employees in an organization. It can also be stated that the human needs cannot be
divided into five separate groups. It can be said that money is the most important source in
relation to need satisfaction and on the basis of the situation it can help in satisfying the other
needs. It can be said that the extent upto which the physical needs of the workers can be
satisfied depends on capability of management in providing the adequate financial reward in
the form of allowances along with salaries (Baqutayan, Ariffin and Raji 2015). The
management should improve upon the wage level which is in line with that of inflationary
direction that can help in the creation of a workforce that is well-motivated.
Two factor theory of Herzberg
Fred Herzberg is the name of another psychologist who has thrown light on the
theories pertaining to motivation. He developed the two-factor theory in relation to job
satisfaction where the motivators along with the hygiene factors were identified. According
to Einstein, Addams and Roosevelt (2016), the motivators comprise of achievement,
recognition along with growth possibilities of an individual in an organization. These can be
said to be part of job itself and the workers in an organization want to achieve it. The
maintenance factors act as the job context factor in an organization. These consist of style of
supervision, peer relations and the relation with the subordinates. It has been argued by
Herzberg (2017), that the effectiveness of the satisfier acting as the motivating agents is
dependent on existing hygiene factors in right quantity along with quantity that can help in
neutralizing the aspect of dissatisfaction in an organization. According to Hur (2018), the two
factor theory of Herzberg lays importance on job content factors along with need of
management so that greater attention is paid for upgrading them. Studies that have been

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carried out have failed in identification of existence of the independent factors in relation to
motivator along with hygiene. An individual agrees to the fact that hygiene factors can help
in making jobs more tolerable and it can help in making a company a better place where the
people can work (Sanjeev and Surya 2016). The hygiene factors however provide little
amount of direct motivation so that the employees would be contributing more than that of
minimum effort.
Theory X and Y of Megregor
Megregor has said that the managers can help in operating two styles in relation to
management- traditional along with modern styles. Megregor has stated that theory X can
tally with the traditional style of the management. Theory Y on the other hand can be said to
be oriented towards motivation and it can be said that it tallies with that of the modern style.
According to Stoyanov (2017), Megregor has based proposition on the fact that assumptions
of manager regarding human nature can help in the determination of style of the leadership
that should be adopted in the organization. This assumption can help in influencing every
action that manager would take in an organization. It has been argued by Alshmemri,
Shahwan-Akl and Maude (2017) that assumptions of manager act as the cause and not effect
of behaviour of the employees. Megregor has said that the managers assuming that the
workers are indifferent towards that of the organizational goal will pave the way for the
creation of such kind of an organization that is called self-fulfilling prophecy. Based on the
social research result, Mc Gregor has submitted an opposing theory that is known as theory
Y. This can help in providing a realistic assessment pertaining to capabilities of people.
Modern manager should make use of the potential in theory Y that can help in propelling the
motivated workforce that can help in producing the better results (Miner 2015).
The implications of Theory Y lie in the fact that idea of the integration can help in the
creation of environment where the interests and the goals of the workers can be achieved with
the help of commitment to that of corporate goals. This theory states that democratic decision
making can help in the aspect of engaging the employees in an organization. According to
Lazaroiu (2015), that the managers having confidence about the employees can pave the way
for the employees behaving in responsible manner in the organization. This theory lays undue
stress on the fact that the employees can be motivated with the help of self-esteem while they
are on the job (Kiatkawsin and Han 2017). It is necessary on the part of the management to
restructure the environment of an organization that can be instrumental in releasing of the

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human potentials. This cannot always be true as there are some people who do not feel
comfortable in the event of having excessive amount of freedom.
Expectancy Theory of Vroom
The Vroom Expectancy Theory pertaining to motivation focuses on the behaviour of
the workers in an organization. He stated that work behaviour pertaining to the employees
can help in explanation of process that is involved and the assumptions were based on the
idea that observed behaviour of an individual can pave the path for motivation in an
organisation. The primary method that is developed for this purpose is called ‘objective
observation’. According to Lloyd and Mertens (2018), the Vroom’s expectancy theory states
that the motivated behaviour of an individual is product of the two variables- valence of
outcome for that of an individual and the expectation that an act will be followed by an
outcome that is predictable. It has been stated by Chen, Ellis and Suresh (2016), that valence
is indicative of anticipated satisfaction from that of an outcome and expectancy is indicative
of momentary belief relating to likelihood that a particular act will lead the way for particular
outcome. Vroom has said that motivation refers to force that translates into pressure that can
help an individual in performing an act.
The theory of Vroom has been criticized owing to the fact that factors that can help in
determination of effort that a worker puts into the job can hardly be accurately identified. The
practical implication of this theory is that this theory may be difficult for implementation
because factors affecting relationship in between the effort of employees and the actual
performance can get blurred. According to Baumhof et al. (2017), the practical implication of
Vroom’s theory for the managers is that managers should identify the values along with
preference of the employees and they should be harmonised with that of the corporate
objective. This can prove to be effective in enhancing the aspect of employee motivation that
can be useful in engaging the employees in an organisation. For the purpose of providing
motivation to the employees, managers should be involved in publicising and offering
rewards that can be of value to the employees of an organization. It can be stated that rewards
that are based on the aspect of value can be linked to that of performance of the employees in
an organization. The modern managers can work on the arena of non-financial incentives that
can prove to be instrumental in engaging the employees in the workforce. The monitoring of
the financial rewards at regular interval can help in providing encouragement to the
employees in an organisation. The managers in an organisation should identify the training

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requirements that can help in guaranteeing employee effort that can give rise to effective
performance of the employees within an organisation (Baumann and Bonner 2017). The
training needs of the workers in an organisation should be identified that can help the workers
in acquiring the requisite amount of skills that can help the employees in actualizing potential
in the organization. Here should be retraining programs in the organization that can help in
effective engagement of employees within an organization. The modern managers have to
embark on the process of re-designing the jobs that can help in accommodating rewards that
are sought by the employees in an organization.
Erg Theory of Alderfer
The “Erg” theory of motivation of that of Clayton Alderfer acts as an offshoot of that
of the need hierarchy theory of Maslow. Alderfer has been involved in criticizing Maslow
because he felt that the human needs cannot be provided with rank on the basis of hierarchy
and that the same needs can be ranked along that of a continuum. Alderfer has said that there
exist three groups pertaining to human needs in contrast to that of five needs hierarchy of
Maslow. “Existence” needs corresponds to that of Maslow’s physiological needs that is also
referred to as the lower order need. The needs pertaining to “relatedness” tallies with the
theory of Maslow and “growth” needs correspond to that of higher level need of Maslow. It
has been stated that theory of Alderfer is more dynamic as compared to Maslow because it
helps the employees in dealing with two set of the need at the same time (Chen, Ellis and
Suresh 2016). This theory has however been criticized owing to the fact that it lacks in
respect to originality. The ideas can be said to be borrowed from the theory of Maslow and on
this Alderfer built the ERG theory. There existed some psychological underpinning which
influenced the human needs that theory of Alderfer did not take into consideration.
The practical implication of Erg theory lies in the fact that it focusses on the fact that
management should improve upon the emoluments of the workers along wih fringe benefits
that can prove to be useful in engagement of employees in an organisation. The managers
should provide inflationary direction that can help in the creation of appropriate avenue in
relation to motivation. The modern managers have shown high amount of responsibility with
the help of their sustained efforts pertaining to physical security of the work environment.
There are a large number of managers who want the security of tenure in relation to the
employees. According to Hur (2018), the co-operative spirit existing between the peer and
the superior can pave the way for the engagement of employees within an organization. The

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managers should maintain personal contact with all the employees that can help in engaging
the employees in an organization. The managers should treat the employees in a fair manner
that can be useful in engaging the employees within an organization. The managers in an
organisation should maintain that of relaxed supervision that can help in engaging employees
in the organization. Informal interactive session should be held with the workers that can be
useful for the purpose of engaging the employees within an organization.
Conclusion
Organizational Behaviour is indicative of study of human behaviour in the setting of
an organization. It refers to study of individuals and that of work groups in an organization.
Motivational theories provide framework that can motivate staff within an organization
which helps in effective performance of the employees. The need hierarchy theory of Maslow
talks about the basic needs that an individual has like the physiological needs, safety needs
and self-esteem needs that can help the employees in delivering effective performance within
the organizational setting. Fred Herzberg has also thrown significant amount of light on the
aspect of motivation that can engage employees in an organization. The two-factor theory of
Herzberg has talked about motivators and that of hygiene factors that can be useful in
engaging employees in an organization. The hygiene factors can play an important role in
providing small amount of motivation to employees of an organization so that the employees
can contribute successfully to the organization. The assumptions that are held by the
managers have an effect on the behaviour of the employees in an organization. Vroom
Expectancy Theory has said that in the event of an individual observing the behaviour of
other employees an employee can be motivated to deliver effective performance within that
of the organizational setting. It states that training needs of workers being identified can help
the workers in gaining the skills that can help in the aspect of actualization of potential in the
organization. “Erg” theory pertaining to motivation has stated the fact that relaxed
supervision can prove to be useful for engagement of the employees in organization. Informal
interactive session can be held in the organization that can engage employees in the
organizational setting.

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