Theories Related to Motivation

Theories Related to Employee Motivation

Purpose

The article provides a synthesis of employee motivation theories and offers an explanation of how employee motivation affects employee retention within organizations. This describes the relevant motivation theories and explained the implications of employee motivation theories on developing and implementing employee retention practices, it also provides how effective employee retention practices can be explained through motivation theories and how these strategies serve as a strategy to increasing organizational performance.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

Maslow’s defining work was the development of the hierarchy of needs. According to Stephens (2000), Maslow believed that human beings aspire to become self-actualizing and viewed human potential as a vastly underestimated and unexplained territory as illustrated in Figure 1

Figure-1 (Maslow , 1943)

Maslow believed that there are at least five sets of goals which can be referred to as basic needs and are physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow (1943) stated that people, including employees at organizations, are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires. Humans are a perpetually wanting group. Ordinarily the satisfaction of these wants is not altogether mutually exclusive, but only tends to be. The average member of society is most often partially satisfied and partially unsatisfied in all of one’s wants (Maslow, 1943). The implications of this theory provided useful insights for managers and other organization leaders. One of the advice was for managers to find ways of motivating employees by devising programs or practices aimed at satisfying emerging or unmet needs.

When the need hierarchy concept is applied to work organizations, the implications for managerial actions become obvious. “Managers have the responsibility to create a proper climate in which employees can develop to their fullest potential. Failure to provide such a climate would theoretically increase employee frustration and could result in poorer performance, lower job satisfaction, and increased withdrawal from the organization” (Steers & Porter, 1983, p.32).

McClelland’s Need Theory

Some people who have a compelling drive to succeed are striving for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success per se. This the theory of needs focusing on three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation The need for achievement was defined as the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed. The need for power was defined as the need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise. The need for affiliation was defined as the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. The need for achievement proposes that motivation and performance vary according to the strength of one’s need for achievement and is defined as a desire to accomplish something difficult The need for affiliation suggested that people have the desire to spend time in social relationships and activities. People with a high need for affiliation prefer to spend more time maintaining social relationships, joining groups, and wanting to be loved. Individuals high in this need are not the most effective managers or leaders because they have a hard time making difficult decisions without worrying about being disliked (Kreitner, 1998). The need for power reflects an individual’s desire to influence, coach, teach, or encourage others to achieve. Because effective managers must positively influence others, McClelland proposes that top managers should have a high need for power coupled with a low need for affiliation (Kreitner, 1998).

Equity Theory

Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned not only with the absolute amount of rewards they receive for their efforts, but also with the relationship of this amount to what others receive. Based on one’s inputs, such as effort, experience, education, and competence, one can compare outcomes such as salary levels, increases, recognition and other factors. The major components of exchange relationships in this theory are inputs and outcomes. In a situation where a person exchanges her or his services for pay, inputs may include previous work experience, education, effort on the job, and training. Outcomes are those factors that result from the exchange. The most important outcome is likely to be pay with outcomes such as supervisory treatment, job assignments, fringe benefits, and status symbols taken into consideration also.

Expectancy Theory

“Expectancy theory holds that people are motivated to behave in ways that produce desired combinations of expected outcomes” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 1999, p.227).

REFERENCES
Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland,World.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review.

McClelland, D. C. (1961). The Achieving Society. New York: Free Press.

McLagan, P. (1989). Models for HRD Practice. Training & Development,43(9), pp.49-59.

Porter, L., & Lawler, E. (1968). Managerial Attitudes and Performance. Homewood,Irwin.

Sunil R. (2004) American Academy of Business. A Review of Employee Motivation Theories and their Implications for Employee Retention within Organizations, Cambridge, 104(47), pp,52-63.