Motivation Theories and Their Application in Modern Workplace

This report provides an overview of various motivation theories and their applicability in the modern workplace. It discusses Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer's ERG Theory, McClelland's Achievement Motivation Theory, Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, and McGregor's Theory X & Y. The report highlights how these theories can be used to motivate employees, improve job satisfaction, and increase productivity within organizations. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the different needs of employees to foster a positive and productive work environment, ultimately contributing to the profitability and success of the business. The study concludes that motivation is an essential factor for increasing productivity and improving employee performance, and organizations should consider fulfilling the needs of individuals by using various motivational theories.

Summative
Assessments
(Part2)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Assessment 2....................................................................................................................................3
Theories of Motivation and their applicability in modern workplace.........................................3
Maslow's Heirarchy of needs .....................................................................................................3
Alderfer's ERG Theory...............................................................................................................4
McClelland's achievement motivation theory ............................................................................5
Hertzberg's Two factor theory ....................................................................................................6
Mc Gregor's theory X & Y..........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Motivation acts as a crucial factor in increasing the productivity of the business by
motivating the employees to contribute in the interests of the organization by considering their
own interests by way of motivation. It brings positivity in the behaviour and attitudes of
employees towards the work. When organizations employ various motivational rewards and
recognition programmes , it helps in improving the performance of employees by being
motivated to contribute more for the organization (Goyal, Goel and Agarwal, 2022). There are
various motivational theories that businesses can follow for motivating the employees for
improved performance of business and bring positivity in their working ways. Different
motivational theories are based on different factors such as basic needs and performance
management that employers can use such as Maslow's heirechy of needs , Hertzberg's theory of
motivation , Expectancy theory and so on (Kirikutsa and et. al., 2022). The following report will
cover the motivational theories and their applicability in modern workplace.
Assessment 2
Theories of Motivation and their applicability in modern workplace
Motivational theory is the study of analysing what makes an individual to contribute
more for the specific goals of the business. It is considered to be the essential element in business
and management. The motivated employee is more productive and contributes more to the
profitability of business. Businesses can use various theories of motivation for increasing
productivity of their employees and thereby the overall profitability of the business. Some of the
theories of motivation are explained hereunder :
Maslow's Heirarchy of needs
It is one of the famous and mostly used theory of motivation. It was developed by
Abraham Maslow. This theory states that the actions of individuals are motivated by their
psychological needs. Maslow identified 5 basic needs, the fulfilment of which provides
motivation to employees. The needs are mentioned below:
 Psychological needs : These are the basic needs that are necessary for the survival of
individuals. Companies should ensure to provide fulfilment of these needs to motivate
employees in job satisfaction. These needs include food, water , shelter, air, sleep, sex,
etc.

 Security and Safety needs : Employees wants safety at the workplace as well as while
travelling from office to home and vice versa. Other safety and security needs include
financial security, health and wellness , safety from accidents etc. So, companies should
provide these needs to motivate them.
 Social needs : These needs include love, friendships, belongings , social groups , family,
romantic relationships etc. to avoid the issues of stress, tension and depression by
ignoring the loneliness. For positive behaviour towards work, it is important to feel loved
and accepted by others i.e. society and colleagues.
 Esteem Needs : After the satisfaction of above needs, fulfilment of these needs is also
imperative. Organizations should develop self esteem of employees by appreciating their
contribution and increasing their status and personal worth in the organization.
 Self Actualization needs : These needs include self awareness and consideration of
personal growth and making the full use of potential , talent and capabilities ion fulfilling
the objectives of the organization (Chui and Gali, 2022).
Alderfer's ERG Theory
This theory considers that the individuals could be motivated by various levels of needs
simultaneously and the level that they consider specific for themselves can change with passing
of time. This theory was provided by Clayton Alderfer. This theory suggests that there are 3
main needs i.e. Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG) aligning them with the Maslow's level
of psychological , social and self actualization needs.
 Existence : It refers to the basic necessary requirements for living. It is same as the
psychological needs and safety & security needs under Maslow's theory. It includes the
fulfilment of needs like air, food , water, shelter , sex etc. And safety related needs like
employment security as well as financial security. Organizations must also ensure safety
at workplace of the employees.
 Relatedness : These needs include the significance of interpersonal relationships of
employees of organization. These are based on interactions with other employees and
colleagues in the organization (Tutić, 2022). These are similar as maslow's social needs
that includes love and belongings related needs. It also aligns with self esteem needs such
as attaining the respect form others in the organization.

 Growth : It includes the intrinsic wants for personal development of the employees.
These needs are related with other remaining needs of Maslow's needs. It includes
personal growth and career development in the organization that includes training and
development of employees for increasing personal worth and position, status etc. in the
organization.
McClelland's achievement motivation theory
This theory of motivation states that every individual has four main motivators for
increasing their productivity in the business. Those four motivators are needs for achievement ,
affiliation, power and avoidance. These motivators are not to be considered as inherent rather
individuals must develop them through the culture at workplace and practical life behaviour.
This theory was developed by David McClelland (Sarfraz, Khawaja and Ivascu, 2022).
According to this theory, individuals have motivating drivers irrespective of their age, caste,
gender , religion or culture etc. The four needs are :
 Need For Achievement : This means that every person wants to develop his life by
achieving or accomplishing something worthwhile. The individuals want to achieve a
reputed position in the organization to feel respected and enjoy high status. Individuals
want to have well paid jobs for better society image and for better livelihood as well.
 Need for Power : People need to add value to their status to influence others by their
potential. They want to have valued reputation and recognition in the organization. These
kind of individuals want to have competition and winnings. These needs comprise of
personal power and potential of the individuals.
 Need for Affiliation : This need for affiliation does not fit well with the need for power
as here the cooperation is preferred with people to develop affiliation with them to form
connectivity network in the organization whereas in the need for power the competition is
considered that cannot fit with cooperation or collaboration.
 Need for Avoidance : This Need was introduced after sometime by the author. People
tend to find safe situations to avoid the fear of failure, and rejection and even success.
They do not want to show themselves in unfavourable situations (Cavedon-Taylor, 2022).
So, to avoid the fear of failure and lack of safety, this need of avoidance was developed.

Hertzberg's Two factor theory
This is a two factor theory which is also known as motivational hygiene theory and dual-
factor theory. It considers that there are various factors at the workplace that provide job
satisfaction to the employees and some other factors cause dissatisfaction among them. These are
categorised as satisfiers and dissatisfies as mentioned below :
 Motivation Factors : These factors provide job satisfaction to the employees by
considering their personal growth and self actualization needs. These factors include the
advancement for career growth, the level of work and working conditions, possibility for
growth in the organization by way of promotion and training & development,
responsibility and authority to make decisions, recognition for enjoying reputation and
high status in the organization and achievement that can be positive i.e. related to success
or negative i.e. related to failure (Costello, 2022).
 Hygiene factors : These factors are those which reduce job dissatisfaction among the
employees. These are extrinsic to the job. These are related with contextual factors such
as interpersonal relations , salary and other monetary benefits, policies and administrative
factors of the company, positive or negative relationship with the managers or colleagues
in the organization. The physical environment of the workplace should be positive and
healthy enough to provide satisfaction to the employees such as ventilation, Space,
temperature , safety etc.
Mc Gregor's theory X & Y
This theory of X & Y was developed by a psychologist Douglas Mc Gregor. This was
proposed to develop theories on human management and leadership that are Theory X and
Theory Y. Theory X states to consider the leadership aspects for providing motivation. It puts
focus on authoritarian leadership style in which outcomes are the concentration of leadership and
this is considered more as task -driven rather than employees- driven (Pyra, Motley and Bouris,
2022). It includes application of coercive methods and directions given by leaders. Theory Y is
considered to be more employees-driven. In this, Emphasis is put on the performance of
employee by providing value and appreciation to the employee. This considers that when there is
a positive and healthy working environment for the workers, they become more committed to the

goals of organization by job satisfaction and use their full potential for increasing its
profitability. This adds value to them in the organization (McHugh, 2022).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that motivation is very essential factor
for increasing the productivity in the organization and for improving the performance of the
employees. It brings positivity in the behaviour of employees by providing job satisfaction to
them by fulfilment of their needs. Organizations must consider the fulfilment of needs of the
individuals by using various motivational theories to make them productive and committed to the
goals and objectives of the organization. A more productive employee is considered to be the
major contributor to the profitability of organization. There are various motivational theories
such as Maslow's hierarchy theory which is considered as the best theory for motivating
employees by fulfilling their basic needs. other theories such as Vroom's expectancy theory also
helps in improving performance of employees by way of performance appraisal and
management. So, here is great contribution of motivational theories in increasing profitability
and market share of the companies in modern world and workplace as well.

REFERENCES
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Motivation and Socio-psychological Climate of Interpersonal Relations of the
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Tutić, A., 2022. Cultural orientations and their influence on social behaviour: Catalysation and
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