Question

Motivation Theory

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation (Motivation-Hygiene Theory)

Hawthorne Effect

Expectancy Theory

There is a theory that motivation can only come from within, however, as a manager you will have the responsibility to not only manage the daily activities of your employees but to also motivate them. Understanding the individual characteristics of your employees is key as this allows you to have a personal approach based on their personality rather than relying solely on your leadership style. Having a strong understanding of motivational theories will aid in your ability to motivate personnel.  

In this chart complete the following:

Give a complete description of your understanding of the motivational theory.

What type of environment or situation would be best suited to each theory. Give an example of a situation you have experienced or a situation in which you believe this would have been a good fit.

Describe the Pros and Cons of each theory

Answer 1

My understanding about motivational theory is that it mainly deals with what drives an individual to work in the organization in order to achieve a goal. Organizations are interested in motivation theories because motivated individuals are more productive leading to economic use of available resources.

There can be both intrinsic & extrinsic factors that drive the individual’s motivation. Intrinsic factors would include interest, enjoyment, willingness of the individual etc. while external factors include where individuals would be driven more by outcome rather than the activity.

Environment or situation suitable to each theory:

• Motivation theory: this theory would be applicable in situations where an employee may be underperforming or may not be interested towards the job. For example, a salesman who sells products is not able to reach his target for a particular period & if his manager announces for sales incentive on a higher percentage of his salary, he would be automatically motivates to achieve his targets.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – this can be applied in situation of teaching where it can provide teachers a reminder & framework that their students are less likely to perform at their full potential if their basic needs are unmet.
• McGregor observed that X-type workers are in fact mostly in minority, and yet in mass organizations, such as large scale production environment, X Theory management may be needed and can be unavoidable. In Y-type organizations, people at lower levels are engaged in decision making and have more responsibility.
• Some simple examples of hygiene factors include organizational policies and procedures, supervision, relationships with co-workers and supervisors, physical work environment, job security, and compensation. It is part of Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory.
• Hawthorne effect: here individuals alter their behavior in response to being altered. Workers for example in a study might become temporarily more productive as a result of being observed.
• Expectancy theory - For example, I remember two students in my management degree courses who were seasoned managers with exceptional management skills and experience. They both signed up for a course to learn new ideas and theories they could apply. They were both confident that they could complete the course and perform well in this subject area. Their expectancy was high.

Example of a situation experiences:

I haven’t experienced any kind of situation in my organization as I was working as a subordinate.

1. Pros of motivation theory:

• Simple to understand.
• Takes into account human nature.
• Relevant in all fields or types of organizations.

           Cons:

• All individuals won’t think in same way.
• There can be culture differences.
• Difficult to measure.

1. Pros of Maslow hierarchy of needs theory:

• It has a natural appeal & can be adopted in uncomplicated manner.
• Insight into human nature.
• Has more relevance in modern day applications which helps in interpreting human behavior.
• Provides an advantageous summary of human needs.

          Cons:

• There is no proper method to measure the accuracy of the theory.
• It considers only narrow segment of human population.
• It lacks validity across different cultures.

1. Pros of Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

• Easy to understand.
• Can provide guiding principles of positive approaches to management.

          Cons:

• There is no evidence to support the theory.

1. Pros of Herzberg’s theory

• They can be used to identify broad issues that can be mitigated in general. For example, if employees are not sure of their job security, managers can mitigate the demotivating factor by open communication.

Cons:

• The disadvantage is that theory is more general which can’t be applied to all groups of employees.

1. Pros of Hawthorne effect:

• Group of workers become a team.
• Helps the management to increase the productivity.
• Subordinates can know their manager’s reactions.

           Cons:

• Other employees feel unimportant.

1. Pros of expectancy theory:

• Commonly accepted theory for explaining an individual's decision-making process.
• Current research generally supports the decision making concepts proposed by the Expectancy Theory of Motivation.

Cons:

• Doesn't take the emotional state of the individual into consideration.
• The individual's personality, abilities, skills, knowledge, as well as past experiences are factors affecting the outcome of the model.
• The expectancy theory of motivation is a "perception" based model.
• The manager needs to guess the motivational force (the value) of a reward for an employee.
• Can be difficult to implement in the group environment.