Chapter 6 Motivation

Chapter 6
Motivation
6.1 Concept of motivation
 The term motivation derived from the Latin word movere
meaning “to move.” In the present context, motivation
represents “those psychological processes that cause
arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions
that are goal oriented. Managers need to understand
these psychological processes if they are to successfully
guide employees toward accomplishing organizational
objectives.
 Motivation is an internal force that energizes behavior,
gives direction to behavior, and underlies the tendency to
persist. This definition of motivation recognizes that in
order to achieve goals,
Motivation
 Individuals must be sufficiently stimulated and

energetic, must have a clear focus or end in mind, and
must be willing and able to commit their energy for a
long enough period of time to realize their aim. Since
the leading function of management involves
influencing others to work toward organizational goals,
motivation is an important aspect of that function
 As managers analyze their workforces, they can always
see some people who outperform others of equal skill.
A closer look might reveal instances in which a person
with outstanding talents is consistently outperformed
by someone having lesser talents. Motivated
individuals work hard, persist and are goal oriented.
6.2 Motivation and performance
 All too often, motivation and performance are assumed to be
one and the same. This faulty assumption can lead to poor
managerial decisions. The following formula for
performance helps put motivation into proper perspective:
 Performance =
Ability x Motivation x Environmental conditions
 Thus, we see motivation is a necessary but insufficient
contributor to job performance. The multiplication sign is
used to emphasize how a weakness in one factor can negate
the other. The above relationship between performance and
motivation clearly shows us that managers should hire
individuals who have the ability to do what is required.
 After that, the management challenge is
providing environmental conditions that
nurture and support individual motivation to
work toward organizational goals.
 Keeping other variables constant, motivation
and performance have neither positive nor
negative relationship.
 As motivation increases, job performance
increases, reaches its maximum and the
decreases.
Theories of motivation
A. Carrot and Stick Approach
 This metaphor relates the use of rewards and penalties in order
to induce desired human behavior. It comes from the old story
that to make a donkey move one must put a carrot in front of it
and if it does not move beat it with stick from behind.
 Despite all the researches and theories of motivation that have
come to the fore in recent years, reward and punishment are
still recognized/considered by strong motivators. For centuries,
however, they were too often thought of as the only forces that
could motivate people. Carrot - money in the form of pay or
bonuses. Stick – fear such as fear of loss of job, loss of
income, reduction of bonuses demotion or some other penalty.
Failures of carrot and stick approach
 1. Carrot can be obtained by any member of the
organization without differentiation in performance –
through such practices as salary increases and
promotion by seniority, automatic “merit” increases,
and executive bonuses not based on individual
manager performance.
 2. Stick in the form of fear is not the best kind of
motivating factor. It often gives rise to defensive or
refectory behavior, such as union organization, poor
quality work, executive indifference, failure of a
manager to take any risk in decision-making, or even
dishonesty.
B. Money as a Motivator
 Even if under the carrot and stick approach money as a
sole motivator has been criticized, it is used as a
motivator (motivating factor) but not the only one.
Money can be used as a motivator under the following
conditions.
 For people who have low-level standards of living and
who badly need it for their life. When the amount is so
significant that the organization uses it for competitive
purposes. When the payment is so differentiated that
even at equal position discriminatory payment is made
for people with different levels of performance.
C. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
 One of the most widely mentioned theories of
motivation is the hierarchy of needs theory put forth
by psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow proposed
that motivation is a function of needs, and he also
proposed that human needs are arranged
hierarchically (in a form of hierarchy).
The hierarchy of needs is based on four premises:
a. Only an unsatisfied need can influence behavior; a
satisfied need is not a motivator. What motivates a
person is what s/he does not have but not what s/he
has.
b. A person’s needs are arranged in a priority order
of importance. Thus, the priorities (hierarchy) go
from the most basic needs to the most complex.
c. As the person’s needs are met on one level, the
person advances to the next level of needs. S/he
will focus on the first level need until it is
minimally satisfied before moving to the next
level.
d. If satisfaction is not maintained for a once-
satisfied need, it will become a priority need
again.
Maslow's’ five-level hierarchy of human needs .
5. Self-Actualization/Realization
Needs
maximize one’s potential and to accomplish
something
4. Esteem Needs desire for both self-esteem (self respect)

and public esteem, and recognition by others.
3. Social/ Love/ Affiliation Needs need for friendship,

companionship, and a place in a group. Love
2. Safety /Security Needs freedom from fear and anxiety, job

security, desires for retirement and insurance
1. Physiological Needs sustaining human life itself, such as food,

water, air, shelter, sleep,
Maslow stages of motivation
Maslow proposed that human needs form a five-level
hierarchy.
1. Physiological Needs These are the basic needs for
sustaining human life itself, such as food, water, air, shelter,
sleep, etc. Maslow took the position that until these needs are
satisfied to the degree necessary to maintain life, other needs
will not motivate people. In other words, As Maslow points
out, a person lacking food, love and esteem wants food more
than he/she wants acceptance or prestige.
2. Safety /Security Needs When physiological needs are
satisfied, safety needs become a priority as a motivator. Safety
needs include freedom from fear and anxiety, job security,
desires for retirement and insurance programs and so on. As
with physiological needs, management attempts to satisfy
safety needs primarily through salary.
3. Social/ Love/ Affiliation Needs; Once we feel reasonably safe
and secure, we turn our attention to relationships with others in
order to fulfill our belongingness needs, which involve the desire
to affiliate with and be accepted by others i.e. the need for
friendship, companionship, and a place in a group. Love needs
include both giving and receiving. These needs are met by frequent
interaction with fellow workers and acceptance by others.
4. Esteem Needs; Esteem needs include the desire for both self-
esteem (self respect) and public esteem, and recognition by others.
These needs take two different forms. First, we have a need for
competency, confidence and independence. We also want the
prestige, status, recognition and appreciation that others bestow on
us. Satisfying esteem needs produces self-worth-pride, self-
confidence, and true sense of importance; not satisfying them
produces feelings of inability and inadequacy- feeling of
inferiority, weakness and helplessness.
5. Self-Actualization/Realization Needs
 Refers to the need for fulfillment, the desire to
become what one is capable of becoming-to
maximize one’s potential and to accomplish
something. For the athlete, it may be breaking a
world’s record; for the research scientist, it may
be finding a cure for HIV/AIDS; and for the
physical therapist, it may be the satisfaction of
helping a child walk or laugh for the first time. In
other words, these needs differ greatly from
person to person. Mandela, Gandhi and world
famous athletes.
 Maslow’s theory suggested that people must satisfy lower-
level (physiological needs) before working toward higher-
level needs. Only when physiological, security, and social
needs have been more or less satisfied do people seek esteem.
 This theory also suggests that if a lower-level need is
suddenly reactivated, the individual will try to satisfy that
need rather than higher-level needs. Maslow’s hierarchy,
although intuitively appealing and frequently used in
management training, has not found widespread support from
management researchers.
 Moreover, the steps in Maslow’s hierarchy may not be
necessarily experienced in a sequential manner. People
may have more than one need at the same time. Situations
detect which needs are most important at a given point in
time.
Discussion questions motivation
What do you understand motivation? What is its
importance in organizations?
What are the main differences between motivation
and performance give practical examples of each?
Explain the three theories of motivation; give main
examples explain the main uses in organizations.
Explain Maslow’s Need Hierarchy motivation
theory its application in management of
organization?
How motivation used to encourage workers at work
place.

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Chapter 6

 Individuals must be sufficiently stimulated and

4. Esteem Needs desire for both self-esteem (self respect)

3. Social/ Love/ Affiliation Needs need for friendship,

2. Safety /Security Needs freedom from fear and anxiety, job

1. Physiological Needs sustaining human life itself, such as food,

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