Motivation

Motivation

Suchitra Pal, PhD

[email protected]

October 25, 2013 SPAL 1

Session-3

What is Motivation?


The extent to which an individual is engaged by the

work role he or she occupies.

Theories of motivation suggest that motivated

behavior occurs either because work fulfills

psychological needs or because of more rational

decision making processes where they appear to be a

clear connection between effort and performance

and performance and value outcomes.

Motivation


A person’s behavior is the result of several

factors or motives.

A typical primary motivators of behavior in a

work settings can help managers and

consultants to deal more effectively with

people.

Motivation


Murray (1938) developed a long list of human motives and his work inspired further studies.

McClelland, Atkinson, Clark and Lowell (1953) suggested three importance motives (achievement, affiliation and power) and elaborate methods for measuring them.

McClellend subsequently demonstrated the importance of the achievement motives for entrepreneurship and marketing and power as a motivation in management.

Basic Psychological Needs


Although McClelland’s study of achievement and

affiliation motives showed them to be rather simple

variables, he found the power motive to be complex

one.

The role of Power as a Motive


According to him the desire (McClelland’s, 1975), the

desire for power contains three different elements:

the need to control others (personalized power)

the need to make an impact on others

and the need to use power to do something for other

people and groups.

The Role of Power as a Motive


It is helpful to make clear distinctions between these

three. Control seems to focus on

keeping track of developments according to the agreed plan

and on being informed about how things are going.

Dependence as a Motive


Another motive that is relevant for the OB is

dependence.

Although it has been generally been regarded as a

negative force, Mcgregor (1996) recognized the positive

values of dependence in management.

Types of Motives


Kraur (1985) described the six primary needs or

motives, which are relevant for the understanding the

behaviour of people in organizations. These are as

follows and called the primary needs or motives.

Achievement: Characterized by the concern for

excellence, competition with the standards of excellence

set by others or oneself.

Types of Motives


Affiliation: Characterized by a concern for establishing

and maintain the close, personal relationships, by values

on friendship and the tendency to express ones

emotions.

Influence: Characterized by a concern to make an

impact on others, a desire to make people do what one

thinks is right, and a urge to change matters and (develop)

people.

Types of Motives


Control: Characterized by concern for orderliness, a

desire to remain informed, and an urge to monitor and

take corrective action when needed.

Extension: Characterized by concern for others,

interest in superordinate goals and an urge to be relevant

and useful to large groups, including society.

Types of Motives


Dependence: Characterized by a desire for help for

other’s in one’s own self development, checking with

significant others (those who are more

knowledgeable or have higher status, experts, close

associates etc).

Submitting ideas or proposals for approval, having an

urge to maintain an ‘approval’ relationship.

Explaining these motives


All these motives we have discussed before can be used

to explain the behavior of people in organizations.

However each of these motives can have two dimensions:

approach and avoidance.

For example; the hope of success versus fear of failure

(approach vs. avoidance) was the most important

intervening variable in explaining who benefitted from

achievement motivation training program as measured by

an increase in entrepreneurial activity.

Approach and Avoidance aspects of Motives


Motive Approach

(Hope of)

Avoidance

(Fear of)

Achievement Success Failure

Expert Influence Impact Impotence

Control Order Chaos

Extension Relevance Irrelevance

Dependence Growth Loneliness

Affiliation Inclusion Exclusion

Needs at Work


Motivational theories can be divided into two categories,

termed content and process.

Content theories assumes that all individuals possess the

same set of needs.

Deci and Ryan (2000) have need constructs at the heart

of their ‘self determination theory’ which explores the

way individuals with little status or power fulfill

psychological needs.

Needs at Work


These authors posit three basic needs:

all of which appeared in Murray’s original list,

needs for competence,

relatedness (the desire to feel close to others), and

autonomy

(the desire to be self-organized and pursue activities which resonate with one’s sense of self.)

Content Theories of Motives


Content theories are based on the assumption that we

can attribute a similar set of needs to all individuals.

Abraham Maslow (1954) outlined what is perhaps the

most influential of the content theories.

Maslow’s Believe on Motives


1. Maslow believed that human needs are instinctive in nature and have their basic in biogenetic and evolutionary heritage.

2. Motivation was largely an unconscious process. We are largely not aware of what motivates us and would find it difficult to describe our motivation in any straight forward way, such as by completing a questionnaire.

3. Then the hierarchy of needs. His argument was that once we satisfy needs at one level in the hierarchy, its impact on our behaviour diminishes.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs


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Self-actualization needs

Needs to develop one’s full potential

Higher-order needs Self-esteem needs

Need for recognition and a belief in oneself

Social needs

Need for satisfactory and supportive

relationships with others

Deficiency needs Security needs

Need for safety and freedom from fear

Physiological needs

Needs for food, warmth, clothing, and

shelter

Process Theories


What all process theories have in common is an

emphasis on the role of cognitive process in determining

his or her level of motivation.

One major process theory -equity theory- explores the

impact of feeling poorly rewarded or indeed the opposite

feeling, too well rewarded, on our behaviour at work

Business

Motivation