Employee motivation

Employee motivation

1. Motivation: That which energises, directs and sustains human behaviour.

2. theories of motivation

   • Content theories: Attempt to explain motivation in terms of factors that initiate employee behaviour. Give the manager an insight into employee needs and how these affect employee behaviour and attitudes at work.
     • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory: Employees are motivated to satisfy five basic types of needs (physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation), arranged in a hierarchy of importance.
     • Herzberg’s two-factor theory Involves a two-tier hierarchy of needs: Motivators are higher order needs for achievement. These determine job satisfaction and performance. Hygiene factors are lower order needs that are met by pay, working conditions, interpersonal relations, supervision, company policy and administration.
     • Job characteristics theory Five core characteristics of a job significantly affect motivation and satisfaction: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback.
     • McClelland’s achievement motivation theory Achievement motivation is the desire to perform in terms of standard of excellence, or desire to be successful in competitive situations. Money is a symbol of achievement. Power and affiliation needs are important.
   • Early theories
     • Scientific management Division of labour, task specialisation, time measurement and the use of monetary rewards are at the heart of this approach. Key assumption: money is primary motivator
     • The human relations movement Impact of the work group and effect of management style. Employees’ need for recognition, security, status, belonging.
     • Theory X: The assumption that employees dislike work, are lazy, seek to avoid responsibility and must be coerced to perform. Theory Y: The assumption that employees are creative, seek responsibility and can exercise self-direction.
   • Limitations of content theories. Managers should not accept content theories as the only explanations of employee motivation. They give only a restricted understanding of why employees choose certain behaviours to satisfy their needs. In contrast, this factor of ‘choice’ is the central focus of the process theories of how motivation works.
   • Process theories
     • Vroom’s Expectancy Theory – Employees will do what they can, when they want to. Expectancy: Employee’s perceived probability that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance. Instrumentality: Degree to which employee believes that performing at a specific level will bring about a desired result. Valence: The value/ importance that an employee places on a potential result or reward that can be achieved.
     • Equity theory Employees want to be treated fairly. Perceived inequity produces tension within the individual and this motivates him or her to eliminate or reduce the tension by striving to make the balance equal.
     • Reinforcement theory Focuses on rewards and punishments and the effect they have on behaviour. Based on the law of effect (behaviour that results in a pleasant outcome is likely to be repeated). Companies may make mistakes – for instance, they may seek teamwork, but reward individuals.
     • Goal-setting theory

3. Organisational behaviour modification

   • Operant conditioning: Also called learning by reinforcement or behaviour modification. Focuses on rewards and punishments and the effect that they have on employee behaviour. It aims for the systematic reinforcement of desirable organisational behaviour and the non-reinforcement or punishment of unwanted behaviour.
     • Four approaches: Positive reinforcement: Desired behaviour paired with rewards. Negative reinforcement: Withdrawal of punishment when desired behaviour occurs. Punishment: Involves negative consequences. Extinction: Withdrawal of a positive reinforcer so that undesired behaviour gets weaker over time.
     • Continuous reinforcement: Rewards are given after each desired behaviour (that is, the desired behaviour is rewarded each and every time). While quickly establishing a connection between behaviour and reward, the learned behaviour is subject to rapid extinction once it is no longer rewarded.
       • Partial reinforcement: The desired behaviour is not rewarded every time.
   • Some considerations: Select rewards that are reinforcing for an individual. Identify and use new types of rewards. Look for rewards that are naturally occurring, such as praise and profit sharing. Give out enough of the reward so it is worthwhile for the employee. Provide rewards contingent on the performance of appropriate work behaviour.

4. Culture

   • All motivation theories are not necessarily culture bound. For example, theories of motivation derived from individualistic cultures (i.e. US) are of dubious value in explaining employee behaviour in collectivistic cultures (i.e. China). HR manager should seek to find motivators that reflect the strongly held values of a particular culture and individual employee.

5. Money and motivation

   • Money plays a complex role in employee motivation. Equity, expectancy and reinforcement theories all show the value of money as a motivator. Money can also serve as a symbol of achievement, recognition and status. Employees compare money earned to determine how they rank.
     • Pay will motivate employees only if certain conditions are met. Employees must: attach a high positive valence to pay; believe that good performance leads to high pay; believe that the quality of their job performance primarily reflects how hard they are trying; see the positive outcomes tied to good performance as being greater than negative ones; see good performance as the most desirable of all possible behaviour.
     • Pay will not motivate when: There is little trust between management and employees. Employee performance is difficult to measure. Employee performance is measured subjectively and ratings are seen to be biased. Large pay increases cannot be given to the top performers.

6. Further considerations

   • An employee will not be motivated if he or she does not feel that pay is related to performance.
   • The absolute amount of the pay increase must clearly discriminate between good and poor performers.
   • If the corporate culture is strongly egalitarian, rewarding individual performance may send a conflicting message
   • Negative consequences from a pay increase (such as taxation) may reduce motivation.
   • Money must not be viewed as the sole motivator.