INTRODUCTION Essays (1644 words) - Psychology, Motivational Theories

INTRODUCTION Motivation of employees in the workplace is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a manager, in order to achieve high levels of productivity, to satisfy the ever changing customer needs, and to withstand the increasing global competition. Management motivates the organizational members to make the most of the scarce resources by distributing awards to outstanding employees and perhaps punishing those showing unacceptable performance. Steers (1987) stated that "A comprehensive theory of motivation at work must address itself to at least three important sets of variables which constitute the work situation, i.e. the characteristics of the individual, the characteristics of the job and the characteristics of the work environment". (Blue) Motivation is a tool, often used by the managers to catalyze the avidness of the employees to work without pressure. Various motivational theories have been used since decades to stimulate the workforce in achieving extraordinary results in all fields of work. To motivate the employees, the managers should understand that different people have different set of needs and understanding, and therefore, should be able to use the right mix of motivational theories depending on different individuals, different societies, and different organizational levels. Use of analogous motivation methods may lead to frustration, resentment and a perception of inequity for employees from a diverse culture. (cited from CULTURAL VALUES IN RELATION TO EQUITY SENSTIVITY WITHIN AND ACROSS CULTURES, KENNETH G. WHEELER) Taking this into consideration the managers should apply their knowledge of the various motivational theories to improve the workplace performance. It would depend on different societies, different individuals, and different organizational or job levels. There is not probably a universal motivator for all mankind, nor is there a single motivating force for any one individual. It is a problem of what mixture of needs for what kind of people in what kind of society. In Hong Kong, for example, there is no doubt that money is a predominant motivator with regard to both the lower level need satisfaction and the fulfilment of status and achievement goals. Employee motivation or motivation of organizational members is one of the critical functions of a manager, because there is a persistently increasing pressure for increased productivity in order to meet competition, to best utilize the scarce resources, and to provide goods and services to more and more people at less and less cost Organizations motivate their workforce to perform effectively by offering them rewards for satisfactory performance and perhaps punishing them for unsatisfactory performance. Motivation is the catalyst that spurns employees' eagerness to work without pressure. To motivate is to provide employees with a motive to do some tasks. It is to cause or provoke somebody to act either positively or negatively. Motivation has been used by effective managers to prompt ordinary people to achieve uncommon results in all fields of endeavours People work because they have goals to achieve which surpass financial gains from their employment. Maslow (1943) said that people work to survive and live through financial compensation, to make new friends, to have job security, for a sense of achievement and to feel important in the society, to have a sense of identity, and most especially to have job satisfaction. All employees that have job satisfaction are high performers in their respective workplaces. Theories of Motivation Motivational theories are broadly segregated based on two grounds. The one dealing with the scientific approach such as Equity and Expectancy theory are called process theories and those showcasing the inner drive of an employee that motivates them to work such as Maslow's (1954) hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's (1959) two factor theory are called content theories. The below mentioned section will highlight more about these theories. MOTIVATION THEORIES Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow (1954) presented the hierarchy of needs and divided them into two groups; deficiency and incremental needs. The deficiency needs includes the biological, safety, belongingness and social needs whereas the incremental needs comprises of the esteem and self actualization needs (Citation: Huitt, W. (2004). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date] from, http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html. Return to:). Maslow proposed that as an individual develops they work towards achieving these needs, arranged in a certain hierarchy and unless the