Motivation

Pages 185 – 203

Motivation

The desire or drive to work well. The process of ensuring that there is continuing commitment to a common set of goals or a single goal.

Motivation drives people to act in certain ways.

Types of Motivation Intrinsically motivating – the work

itself is interesting and highly valued and the workers enjoy doing the tasks associated with it.

Extrinsically motivating – the work itself is uninteresting, dirty or dangerous.

Factors that Motivate

For a manager to gain the greatest work performance from their subordinates, they must understand what motivates them.

Understanding motivation is hard; each individual will have different expectations from their job and different factors that will motivate them.

Common Motivators Interesting job

Sense of achievement

Job security

Good pay/income

Good hours of work

Lack of pressure

Good holidays

Opportunity for promotion

Classical Motivation Craftsmen, women and artisans

use to make products from start to finish, one at a time.

The Industrial Revolution introduced the concept of the division of labour, where workers would only complete part of the task before moving the product on to the next person in the production process.

Classical Motivation This brought about efficiency in

terms of productivity, but the satisfaction the workers used to receive from making entire products and selling them themselves, disappeared.

Theorists from the classical school of motivation believed that money and the fear of loosing their jobs were motivation enough for keeping workers on task.

Classical Motivation

We now know this to be incorrect. As mentioned previously, each employee has different wants, needs and motivators.

Remuneration

Remuneration – What one receives in exchange for one's labour - usually pay, superannuation, etc.

While receiving fair pay or rewards is important, it is not seen as the most important motivator or determinant of an employee’s job satisfaction.

Flexible Work Practices Employees are now placing

increasing demands on employers to provide more flexibility in their work practices.

Flexible work practices – work practices that allow employees to balance work and family responsibilities.

Flexible Work Practices

Flexible work practices can include: Family and parental leave Child care Flexible working hours School holiday program Flexitime:

A system which permits employees to nominate their start and finish time within a broad range of available hours.

Benefits of Flexible Work Practices

Reduction in staff turnover

Reduction in recruitment and training costs

Promoting fairness in the workplace

Higher staff morale

Increased productivity of employees

Retaining valued employees

Expectations

Both the employees and employer have expectations.

It is important that the employees expectations are met and they are motivated in order for them to fulfil the expectations of the employer.

Examples – Page 187

Expectations

In order to meet these expectations and motivate employees, employers need to understand the different wants and needs of their employees.

Baby Boomers VS Generation X VS Generation Y

Further detail – Page 188

Abraham Maslow Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)

was an American psychologist who created a ‘Hierarchy of Needs’.

Maslow believed that people progress through five stages of needs as they mature and develop.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

HRM & Maslow’s Theory Modern human resource managers

could use some aspects of Maslow’s theory when trying to motivate workers. They would need to be aware that the employees will be at different stages of development, therefore a range of strategies might need to be applied.

Table – Page 191

Frederick Herzberg Herzberg’s motivation theories

focus on 2 sets of factors:

1. Hygiene factors – Job dissatisfiers (external factors that relate to one’s relationship with the organisation’s environment)

2. Motivating factors – Job satisfiers (internal factors and relate to one’s performance of the job itself, and to the nature of the work performed.

Edwin Locke Developed the goal setting theory

in the late 1960’s.

The goal setting theory is a theory of motivation that focuses on the process of setting and attaining goals.

It is believed that employees who have set goal are more task focused, persistent and show an increased level of effort.