Two theories of motivation

Two theories of motivationMotivation is an intangible human asset which acts as a driver that pushes humans to be willing to perform certain put finisheds. In just about everything we do in that location is something that moves us to perform the action which involves some motivation on the wholeowing us to perform tasks or actions which produces some type of personal benefit as a result. The general theory would be that, the greater the personal gain in performing the task for the individual, the to a greater extent motivated they be to savour at the task to achieve the best outcome. Motivation is normally stimulated by a want where there is a gain to be had as a result of performing a certain task. As Todes, McKinney, Ferguson, Jr. (1977) p.223 states, A person is a wanting being he always wants, and he wants to a greater extent. Therefore if there is nothing that an individual wants, there would be no requirement for them to perform a certain task as there is nothing they keister gain from it. Over time there aim been m some(prenominal) motivational theories developed to try and explore what motivation is and how take issueent levels of motivation fuel be achieved with diametric inputs. Two of the most widely value motivational theories come from Abraham Maslow (power structure of involves) and Fredrick Herzberg (two factor theory). Managers in businesses would use these theories in an attempt to motivate staff to provide them with job satisfaction and in return nonplus better task performance.Through extensive research Maslow and Herzberg developed their own theories which ar now used in businesses all around the world. Both differ in how they are applied further in the modern world they are seen as being totally honest by many although they should be perceived as being an interesting problematic set of observations about what motivates people (Finchman Rhodes, 2005) p.199. This is due to the lack of evidence to say that they are comple tely true despite put oning to the overall majority. each is very similar in the way that there are certain urgencys that must be carry out before graduate(prenominal) levels of motivation can be obtained.Abraham Maslow sets out a hierarchy of importance where human needs are arranged in a series of levels (Todes et al. 1977). uniform Herzbergs two factor theory, the needs in Maslows hierarchy can be fork into two levels. The first set being the basic needs, contain physiological and safety needs. The second set can be seen as the motivators consisting of social, esteem and self actualizing needs. In comparison to Herzberg, basic needs would be the equivalent of hygienics needs consisting of salary, colleagues, supervision, policies and environment. Herzbergs second set (motivators) includes recognition, promotion, achievement, responsibility and intrinsic job panoramas, all of which are individually quite self-explanatory and clean-livingly interlinked (Finchman Rhodes, 2 005). As the structure of Maslows hierarchy suggests, the higher motivators are harder to achieve than the previous and there is an order to which they must be acquired. If the previous motivator has not been reasonably satisfied then there will be no desire to try and obtain the next. The physiological needs are reflected in the human need to eat, breathe, rest, drink and engage in active endeavors (Todes et al. 1977) p.244. These needs can be seen as essentials for survival making it logical to be place at the bottom of the hierarchy and as the terminal motivator (Todes et al. 1977). sentry go needs come in the form of feeling secure in the job that you have which means that there is a requirement of shelter, a strong feeling of job security and as Todes et al. (1977) states, a need for protection against physical dangers along with the need to earn a fair salary that can satisfy a given standard of living which is an element in Herzbergs list of hygienics factors. A four-in-ha nd would be open to fulfill the basic needs by giving suitable amount of time for breaks in which the physiological needs can be easily met. Safety would derive from supervision and policies of the company where they act as a guide, helping the employees progress giving them a feeling of being well supported. The environment that they mesh in would in like manner help with employees feeling safe as long as there is the avoidance of physical dangers. Also there is the conflict of whether or not salary is a motivator. Managers whitethorn think that employees would contribute harder for a raise whereas others believe it is ineffective. Although necessary, hence it being placed in the hygiene factors and merged in the safety needs, it is not a motivator. The reason for this may be that although one receives more money for what they do, they will not necessarily crop harder having acquired the raise. This thereof links salary to the motivator, promotion which would be the reason f or why there is a sudden increase in an individuals income.The motivators, beginning with social needs, (Maslows third need which could be seen as being at the base of the motivational hierarchy) cannot be achieved unless the basic needs prior to it are in place and adequately satisfied. kindly needs can be seen as the desire for interaction, credence and a sense of belonging with associates and personal acquaintances (Todes et al. 1977. With Herzberg, it can be argued that the social motivator is split between both the categorical factors contradicting Maslows perception of it. As the hygiene factors of colleagues and to an extent, supervision, fulfill the social need for interaction, the motivator recognition would lead to meeting the need for acceptance and belonging. Herzbergs motivator of recognition combined with promotion, responsibility and perhaps achievement would also be linked with Maslows fourth need, esteem. This, a more personal, perhaps egotistical need, is more t han harder for a manager to incorporate into the working environment due to the managerial trend of reducing most jobs to their lowest level of job content (Todes et al. 1977). existence noticed for good performance through praise and recognition, which could lead to the achievement of a promotion where responsibility is increased, can all be contributors towards fulfilling esteem but never effectively satisfying it entirely. Even if it does, it will only be temporarily and perhaps not enough for the peak need of self-actualisation to start being met. It therefore acts as a constant motivator to work harder or continue working to meet the higher needs (Finchman Rhodes 1977).Self-actualization is where an individual grows towards a libertine understanding of their abilities and utilises these skills at an optimum level (McGregor. 1964). This final need however, is rarely met, hence it being at the top of the hierarchy as the idea of as you progress up the hierarchy, the peak of f or each one need that must be passed is higher than the need before it. Not only is this an important factor, there is also the requirement that the previous needs, although less dominant in focus, must remain active and acceptably satisfied before the next factor can be of any interest to the individual (Krech, Crutchfield Ballachey cited in Todes et al. 1977). Due to this and the general fact that self-esteem is satisfied in small quantities and not regularly, it does not make getting self-actualization an casual task due to the previously described theory rule. Although Herzbergs theory operates similarly, there is not as strict an order to follow as to whether a specific factor must be met before another one can become of any interest other than working on the derriere that all hygiene factors must be adequately satisfied before any motivators can begin to be of any relevance to the individual. In this aspect the model is more lenient and due to not having a strict order of how they must be met, any factor within their respective categories can be acquired in any order making it easy and ready to be tested. Not only this but each factor is very much interlinked and compliments one another in the way that when one is achieved, other factors can be acquired in quick succession. Managers could then incorporate this into the way that tasks are delegated so that when an employee completes one task they obtain a certain amount of need satisfaction. On the next task performed, more needs could be fulfilled and unknowingly, employees would be progressing through the fulfillment of all Maslow or Herzbergs needs where they attain either more self-actualisation or job satisfaction.What needs to be kept in mind is that although the two are very similar, Maslows hierarchy can be applied almost any situation with the aim of exploring psychological progression. Whereas Herzbergs theory outlines more of what factors must be in place before job satisfaction can be ac hieved relating more specifically to motivation and its impact within the work place (Finchman Rhodes. 2005). The intrinsic job aspects would be the closest motivator related to personal accomplishment as this need involves the employees feeling that through working they are benefitting and developing as an individual. This therefore means that a manager would need to try and identify which of the two theories they think would be most effective and manageable in developing employee motivation. Do they want their employees to acquire job satisfaction through Herzbergs motivators or to be self actualizing being more willing to work understanding themselves and what they are capable of. A combination of the two could be possible in Maslows basic needs and Herzbergs hygiene factors but the acquisition of both does not necessarily mean that motivation or job satisfaction would be obtained, it just means that job dissatisfaction would be likely to develop without it (Finchman Rhodes 20 05). some other point to remember is that not all individuals are the same in what they want hence the models not being universally accurate. A situation where either model would not be fully applicable is where one is happy with their current position and the tasks that they perform. As a result of the fulfillment of an unwanted need such as promotion, that particular employee may underperform as they have lost the job satisfaction they had prior to the acquisition of that motivational need. Whereas another who may have wanted such a need would be discouraged due to them not receiving the promotion and as a result de-motivated the employee. As mentioned, everyone is different in their levels of satisfaction and motivational priorities, some of which would be unknown to the individual. Even if known they may not know what to do to obtain them. From this a manager would have to find a way of being able to match the needs of people with appropriate incentives (Todes et al. 1977) p.16 5. Of course for a manager to fulfill all these needs they would have to be able to relate to the motivational needs of the employees beneath them and incorporate them into their strategy so that employees would be able to achieve them through the tasks they perform. As these motivational needs are met, employees may be more motivated to work and unknowingly develop other motivational needs that are fulfilled through the managers task setup. A very important factor for a manager to remember according to Finchman Rhodes (2005) p.266, is that the principle of behaviour that is rewarded tends to be restate and that which is punished, avoided. From this, it can be seen that managers have a strong ability and influence on their employees behaviour.Therefore both motivational theories are not total opposites of each other but are in fact very similar. Both focus on the motivators as being contributors to psychological growth and development (Finchman Rhodes, 2005). Each has certain req uirements which must be met before someone can progress onto achieving motivational needs, such as in Maslows case the basic needs and the hygiene needs in Herzbergs both are seen as being needed to be in place before there can be any progression onto the next set of motivators. This also expresses how both are similarly split into two groups. A big difference would be how Maslows theory can apply to any situation but Herzbergs is more applicable in the workplace and set out in a way that made it easy to prove correct, whereas it was more difficult with the former despite being taught as true (Finchman Rhodes, 2005). Managers could effectively incorporate the motivational techniques into developmental strategies by designing a work environment where employees would be able to develop personally as they work, in turn they could unknowingly acquire motivation (Todes et al. 1977). This way employees would be more willing to perform their tasks and develop needs encouraging them to wor k harder, becoming more motivated to meet these new needs. But perhaps the most manifest and important similarity is that although they are taught as being true, a manager would need to keep in mind that they are not. Even though they apply to the majority, different people have different needs and levels of satisfaction therefore either model cannot be totally relied on for a manager to try motivate employees (McGregor. 1964).Reference ListFinchman. R Rhodes. P, Principles Of Organisational Behaviour, 2005 P.199, P.233McGregor. D, The Professional Manager, 1964 P.11, P.75Todes. J.L, Mckinney. J, Ferguson Jr. W, Management Motivation, 1977 P. 165, P. 223-227, P.244