The definition of motivation starts with the root word, motive. In Webster’s Dictionary motive is defined as, something that causes a person to act. Therefore, motivation can be defined as, the act of providing motive that causes someone to act (Shanks). In other words, according to Nancy Shanks, motivation causes someone to act and someone else cannot make someone motivated. It is the discretion of the person to decide if they are going to be motivated or not. Motivated and unmotivated are not opposites, but instead, there are determining factors that could cause someone to be unmotivated, such as life events and attitudes towards a specific job (Burton, 2012).
Theories of Motivation
There are many theories that try to explain motivation. We will be discussing on two theories.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Herzberg’s two factor theory
Maslow’s hierarchy of need
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the most fundamental needs at the bottom while the need of self-actualization at the top.
After the fulfilment of basic needs like food and shelter, people would seek for needs in the upper layers. According to him if people grew in an environment in which their needs are not met, they will be unlikely to function as healthy individuals or well-adjusted individuals (Kaur, 2013). Right at the top is self-fulfilment, the area for innovation, challenge and creativity. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person’s need to be and do that which the person was “born to do.” “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write.” These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. However, it is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization (Jerome, 2013).
Herzberg’s two factor theory
Psychologist developed a theory namely, “The two-factor theory” that states that there are certain factors in the workplace that causes job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. He theorised that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other ( Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).
The two-factor theory developed from data collected by Herzberg from interviews with 203 engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area, chosen because of their professions’ growing importance in the business world. He concluded that such factors as salary, working condition, interpersonal relation are company policy, supervision, and interpersonal relation, are rather hygiene factors than motivation. An organization was bound to fulfil these needs in order for anyone to work in the company and motivation was something beyond these needs.
Regarding dissatisfaction, it could be minimized with the improvement in hygiene factors but were not dependent on motivation alone. Hertzberg believed that fulfilment in the workplace is what truly motivates an employee. And, extrinsic motivation like increase in pay would not last long (Armstrong, 2003).
Criticisms
Even though Maslow’s and Herzberg theories are widely used and popular around the globe, they lack adequate research to support their theory (Gerhart & Rynes, 2003).
A 1981 study looked at how Maslow’s hierarchy might vary across age groups. A survey asked participants of varying ages to rate a set number of statements from most important to least important. The researchers found that children had higher physical need scores than the other groups, the love need emerged from childhood to young adulthood, the esteem need was highest among the adolescent group, young adults had the highest self-actualization level, and old age had the highest level of security, it was needed across all levels comparably. The authors argued that this suggested Maslow’s hierarchy may be limited as a theory for developmental sequence since the sequence of the love need and the self-esteem need should be reversed according to age (Goebel & Brown, 1981). Along with that, it is also criticized as the theory suggests that one has to steadily move up the hierarchy and cannot skip any steps. In the study of managers in two companies it was founded that there is a little evidence that support that hierarchy of needs existed (Kaur, 2013).
Likewise, Herzberg’s two factory theory has been criticized for being too focused on satisfaction and dissatisfaction than individual performance. Although Hygiene factor is well regarded, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are no longer considered on separate scales. Herzberg failed to differentiate between individuals in context of jobs. The two-factor theory has been criticized for not allowing for individual differences, such as particular personality traits which would affect individual’s unique responses to motivating or hygiene factors (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). The research was conducted on engineers and accountants. These jobs were regarded with high value in the time when this experiment took place. In current scenario, if the same experiment takes place, the result can be drastically different due to the rapid increment in the number of engineers and accountants.
References
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley.
Armstrong, M. (2003). A Handbook of management techniques. London: Kogan Page limited.
Burton, K. (2012). A Study of Motivation: How to get your employees moving. 6.
Gerhart, B., & Rynes, S. (2003). Journal of International Organizational Maganement. The importance of pay in employee motivation: Discrepancies between what people say and what they do, 229-367.
Goebel, B., & Brown, D. (1981). Development Psychology. Age differences in motivation related to Maslow’s need Hierarchy, 809-815.
Hackman, J., & Oldham, G. (1976). Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Motivating through design of work: Test of theory, 250-279.
Jerome, D. N. (2013). International Journal of Business and Management Invention. Application of the
Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance, 39-45.
Kaur, A. (2013). Global Journal of Management and Business Studies. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory: Applications and Criticisms, 1061-1064.
Shanks, N. H. (n.d.). Management and Motivation. Jones and Bartlett.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where students share, stay up-to-date, learn and grow.
The definition of motivation starts with the root word, motive. In Webster’s Dictionary motive is defined as, something that causes a person to act. Therefore, motivation can be defined as, the act of providing motive that causes someone to act (Shanks). In other words, according to Nancy Shanks, motivation causes someone to act and someone else cannot make someone motivated. It is the discretion of the person to decide if they are going to be motivated or not. Motivated and unmotivated are not opposites, but instead, there are determining factors that could cause someone to be unmotivated, such as life events and attitudes towards a specific job (Burton, 2012).
Theories of Motivation
There are many theories that try to explain motivation. We will be discussing on two theories.
Maslow’s hierarchy of need
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the most fundamental needs at the bottom while the need of self-actualization at the top.
After the fulfilment of basic needs like food and shelter, people would seek for needs in the upper layers. According to him if people grew in an environment in which their needs are not met, they will be unlikely to function as healthy individuals or well-adjusted individuals (Kaur, 2013). Right at the top is self-fulfilment, the area for innovation, challenge and creativity. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person’s need to be and do that which the person was “born to do.” “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write.” These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. However, it is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization (Jerome, 2013).
Herzberg’s two factor theory
Psychologist developed a theory namely, “The two-factor theory” that states that there are certain factors in the workplace that causes job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. He theorised that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other ( Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).
The two-factor theory developed from data collected by Herzberg from interviews with 203 engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area, chosen because of their professions’ growing importance in the business world. He concluded that such factors as salary, working condition, interpersonal relation are company policy, supervision, and interpersonal relation, are rather hygiene factors than motivation. An organization was bound to fulfil these needs in order for anyone to work in the company and motivation was something beyond these needs.
Regarding dissatisfaction, it could be minimized with the improvement in hygiene factors but were not dependent on motivation alone. Hertzberg believed that fulfilment in the workplace is what truly motivates an employee. And, extrinsic motivation like increase in pay would not last long (Armstrong, 2003).
Criticisms
Even though Maslow’s and Herzberg theories are widely used and popular around the globe, they lack adequate research to support their theory (Gerhart & Rynes, 2003).
A 1981 study looked at how Maslow’s hierarchy might vary across age groups. A survey asked participants of varying ages to rate a set number of statements from most important to least important. The researchers found that children had higher physical need scores than the other groups, the love need emerged from childhood to young adulthood, the esteem need was highest among the adolescent group, young adults had the highest self-actualization level, and old age had the highest level of security, it was needed across all levels comparably. The authors argued that this suggested Maslow’s hierarchy may be limited as a theory for developmental sequence since the sequence of the love need and the self-esteem need should be reversed according to age (Goebel & Brown, 1981). Along with that, it is also criticized as the theory suggests that one has to steadily move up the hierarchy and cannot skip any steps. In the study of managers in two companies it was founded that there is a little evidence that support that hierarchy of needs existed (Kaur, 2013).
Likewise, Herzberg’s two factory theory has been criticized for being too focused on satisfaction and dissatisfaction than individual performance. Although Hygiene factor is well regarded, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are no longer considered on separate scales. Herzberg failed to differentiate between individuals in context of jobs. The two-factor theory has been criticized for not allowing for individual differences, such as particular personality traits which would affect individual’s unique responses to motivating or hygiene factors (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). The research was conducted on engineers and accountants. These jobs were regarded with high value in the time when this experiment took place. In current scenario, if the same experiment takes place, the result can be drastically different due to the rapid increment in the number of engineers and accountants.
References
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley.
Armstrong, M. (2003). A Handbook of management techniques. London: Kogan Page limited.
Burton, K. (2012). A Study of Motivation: How to get your employees moving. 6.
Gerhart, B., & Rynes, S. (2003). Journal of International Organizational Maganement. The importance of pay in employee motivation: Discrepancies between what people say and what they do, 229-367.
Goebel, B., & Brown, D. (1981). Development Psychology. Age differences in motivation related to Maslow’s need Hierarchy, 809-815.
Hackman, J., & Oldham, G. (1976). Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Motivating through design of work: Test of theory, 250-279.
Jerome, D. N. (2013). International Journal of Business and Management Invention. Application of the
Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance, 39-45.
Kaur, A. (2013). Global Journal of Management and Business Studies. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory: Applications and Criticisms, 1061-1064.
Shanks, N. H. (n.d.). Management and Motivation. Jones and Bartlett.