Exploring Employee Motivation Theories and Methods in Organizations

This assignment investigates multiple employee motivation theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, McGregor's Theory X/Y assumptions, Vroom's expectancy theory, equity theory, goal-setting theory, and self-determination theory. The analysis also includes motiv...Read More

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Management Skills
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Motivation is fundamental to almost any area of life. Human activity is different from nature
which has an intrinsic motivation, that is, it does its activity on its own without any further
reflection. Motivation can be defined as the force that drives behaviour (Herzberg et al.,
2011). It can also be described as the urge to attain a goal or a specific level of performance,
resulting in a behaviour that is goal oriented (Pinder, 2014). There exist several competing
theories which try to describe the nature of motivation. The approaches endeavour to either
wholly or partially explain the specific behaviours of people at given times because of
motivation changes over time according to the circumstances. These different theories are of
significance to the managers because of the complexity of motivation and the fact that there
exists no particular solution to what motivates employees to perform better. They are
evidence of the fact that the behaviour and performance of people are influenced by many
motives. Thus, the various theories function as a framework upon which a direct focus is
integrated to the issue on the most appropriate way to motivate employees to work wilfully.
This essay, therefore, considers three main theoretical approaches namely physiological
theories (Maslow, McGregor and Herzberg), cognitive theories ( Tolman, Vroom, Locke)
and social behaviour theories (Pavlov, Skinner, Watson). Additionally, four primary methods
of employee motivation are discussed, and these include Scientific Management,
Ergonomics, Human Relations Management and Management Systems.
Physiological theories of motivation
These are theories that are concerned with offering solutions to how people think their
perception and learning. The primary psychological theories of motivation include Maslow,
McGregor and Herzberg theories. According to Herzberg (Ball, 2012), there are two aspects
of motivation namely hygiene and satisfiers factors. The hygiene factors include salary,
status, company policies and whereas satisfiers comprise of the job itself, recognition,
individual development and attainment. Herzberg asserts that the hygiene factors can only

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function as dissatisfier, that is they aren’t met. Contrariwise, their removal cannot warrant
motivation. The satisfiers are the only ones that can motivate. Thus, dissatisfaction must not
only be avoided, but the staff should also be given room to achieve their individual needs and
aspirations.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory states that human needs arise in a sequence that is
foreseeable. At the very base of the hierarchy are the fundamental physiological needs like
shelter, food, and drink, followed by security (physical and emotional), thirdly social (feeling
of acceptance), fourth in the hierarchy is self-esteem (status), and lastly we have self-
actualisation which includes individual development. Maslow asserts that once the lower
needs are met, the higher ones emerge. However, a lack that is satisfied doesn’t obviously
satisfy behaviour. If the material needs which are common among all employees are fulfilled,
the employees will be happy and motivated to a given degree. However, individual needs and
expectations take the upper hand and become significant in motivation (Cherry, 2014).
McGregor’s theory X and theory Y is based on the premise that there are two fundamental
types of management behaviours namely Theory X and Theory Y managers and are distinct
from each other. Theory X assumes that people naturally do not like work and will attempt to
evade it at all costs, and for individuals to perform they are to be coerced, monitored and
threatened. Thus theory X managers are dictatorial and micromanaging, and teams under
them tend to perform highly. The assumptions Theory Y are that individuals will intrinsically
exert the same effort at work or during leisure, and if folks are committed to a goal, they will
exercise self-control and discipline. Managers under Theory Y are democratic, supportive
and empowering (Russ, 2011).
Cognitive theories

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Cognitive theories are psychological approaches that endeavour to explain human behaviour
by comprehending the thought processes. Vroom developed the expectancy theory in which
he argued that people anticipate outputs for their inputs and their decisions behaviours are by
three factors: the predicted performance result, the expected output for the effort, and the
expected value of return. This theory describes motivation as a reality that is dependent on
individual expectations of worth and value. This implies that when the people are making
decisions regarding their behaviour, the leading question is ‘what’s in it for me?’ and
therefore the managers should as well ponder on this matter while making the decisions on
behalf of the subjects (Parijat and Bagga, 2014).
The Goal-setting Theory by Locke states that behaviour is driven by goals. The Obligation to
goals and the effort and outcome emanating from this relies on the nature of the purpose. In
other words, precise and challenging goals lead to better results as opposed to stress-free and
unclear objectives. The decisions made by individuals about their conduct are dependent on
their expected goals, and they pay attention to their behaviour towards the achievement of
these goals. The goals that are more effective are those that are created with the involvement
of the individuals as opposed to those generated externally and then imposed upon people
(Locke and Latham, 2013)
Edward Tolman developed the sign learning theory by studying rats that were used to
navigating an intricate maze. Later on, the rats discovered the nearest path to the food at the
corner of the maze. The rats could move to the second shortest route once the first way was
blocked. Similarly, he observed that the rats had a cognitive map of the maze with each
transfer of food. Thus, Tolman defined sign learning as developed anticipation that a single
stimulus will be succeeded by another in a specific setting. Therefore, folks do not just
respond to stimuli but instead they act based on their belief and attitudes. Individuals grow

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and learn, and thus they are likely to come up with new ideas as solutions to problems
(Olson, 2015).
Social behaviour theories
Social behaviour theories explain the association between the environment and the specific
response of animals. Pavlov developed a theory called classical conditioning by examining
dogs and observed that there are somethings that a dog does not necessarily need to learn. He
presented a bowl of food to a dog and measured the secretions of its saliva. The dog did
salivate at the presence of food without any learning, and he termed this as a reflex
(unconditioned stimulus). However, he also learned that the same response would be
triggered by any object or event that the dog associated with food. He, therefore, discovered
that the dog had learned to associate food with his lab assistant. Thus, initially, the lab
assistant was a neutral stimulus and later became a conditioned stimulus (Gormezano et al.,
2014).
Operant conditioning was coined by B.F Skinner who was the idea that the external,
observable causes of behaviour should gain more emphasis instead of attempting to
understand the internal motivations and thoughts of individuals. Operant conditioning by
Skinner is a process that tries to change behaviour with the help of positive or negative
reinforcement. Positive reinforcers are awarded to a person after the expected conduct
whereas negative reinforcers are awarded to eliminate an undesired behaviour outcome. The
objective in both scenarios is to increase behaviour. Through this model, people associate a
given act and a similar consequence (Skinner, 2011).
John B. Watson developed further the work of Pavlov and made an application to human
beings. He observed an 11-month-old child by conditioning the infant to be afraid of a white
rate by associating the rat with a deafening and scaring noise (unconditioned stimulus).

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Initially, the child displayed no fear at the presence of the rats, but after a continuous
association of the white rat with jeering noise, the child developed the fear for rats. Thus the
somewhat abnormal noise (UCS) prompted fear (UCR). This experiment proposed that
classical conditioning could result in phobia in some people (Moore, 2011).
Methods of employee motivation
The primary methods of employee motivation include Scientific Management, Ergonomics,
Human Relations Management, and Management Systems method. According to Scientific
Management method, employees do not inherently find pleasure at work and thus need close
monitoring, the managers should subdivide production into a chain of small jobs, and
consequently, staffs are motivated to be industrious and increase output (Wren, 2011).
Ergonomics method is the scientific approach which utilises human data when planning the
place of work. The objective of this technique is to improve comfort, security and efficiency
of employees by designing the workplace. This approach entails the strategy and assessment
of errands, careers, products, companies, workplaces and systems to harmonise them with the
wishes, talents and limitations of the staff (Cañas et al., 2011).
The human Relations Management method of motivation involves the roles and
responsibility of the human resource management about attracting, developing, and retaining
the right number of competent employee to undertake responsibilities mandatory to the
attainment of the goals of the company. Some of the aspects of this method include
orientation and training, performance appraisal, wages, incentive compensation, employee
compensation among others. The objective of this technique is to ensure that the employees
feel that the organisation is concerned with their personal lives apart from the wages it remits
to them (Armstrong, 2014).

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Management Systems method of motivation is an approach where the management system
supports employee motivation through setting goals that are precise, achievable and fair
response by the management. An efficient management system doesn’t only consider the top
performers but also the middle and low performers. This method encourages the setting of
performance standards, defines the primary qualifications for each job position, and balanced
system of requirements. Those staff’s not achieving the set performance standards is not to
expect recognition (Kerzner, 2013).

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References
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Ball, B., 2012. A summary of motivation theories. Jurnal Psikologi, Maret, pp.1-26.
Cañas, J.J., Velichkovsky, B.B. and Velichkovsky, B.M., 2011. Human factors and
ergonomics. IAAP Handbook of Applied Psychology, pp.316-337.
Cherry, K., 2014. Hierarchy of needs. The Five Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
About. com Guide.↑| Link.
Gormezano, I., Prokasy, W.F. and Thompson, R.F. eds., 2014. Classical conditioning.
Psychology Press.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B.B., 2011. The motivation to work (Vol. 1).
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Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P., 2013. Goal setting theory, 1990.
Moore, J., 2011. Behaviorism. The Psychological Record, 61(3), p.449.
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Parijat, P. and Bagga, S., 2014. Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation–An
evaluation. International Research Journal of Business and Management (IRJBM), 7(9),
pp.1-8.
Pinder, C.C., 2014. Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.

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Russ, T.L., 2011. Theory X/Y assumptions as predictors of managers' propensity for
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Skinner, B.F., 2011. About behaviorism. Vintage.
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