Classical Motivation Theories - Similarities and Differences between them

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Contents

Contents .................................................................................................................... 2

List of Figures........................................................................................................... 3

1.  Introduction  4

2.  Methodology  6

  Secondary Data Collection  6

  Primary Data Collection  6

3.  What is motivation  7

4.  Why is motivation so important in management  11

5.  Motivation theories  15

5.1  Abraham Maslow - Hierarchy of human needs 15  

5.2  Frederick Herzberg - Two factor theory 22  

5.3  Clayton P Alderfer - ERG-theory 32  

6.  Similarities and differences between the motivation theories  39

7.  Conclusion  44

  References  46

  Books  46

  Internet  47

  Journals  48

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List of Figures

  Figure 1: The basic motivation process (Hodgetts and Luthans 1997 p 332)  8

  Figure 2: Maslow s hierarchy of human needs (Weightman 1999 p 39)  16

  Figure 3: Meaning of the hierarchy of human needs at the workplace (Steers and  

  Porter 1991 p 3)  19

  Figure 4: Motivation-hygiene theory  23

  Figure 5: Herzberg s two factor theory (Hodgetts and Luthans 1997 p 340)  25

  Figure 6: Own illustration: Motivators and hygiene factors depending on job  

  satisfaction and dissatisfaction  26

  Figure 7: Motivators and Hygiene factors with its dedicated opposites (Neuberger  

1974)..............................................................................................................  27  27

  Figure 8: Alderfer s ERG-theory  33

  Figure 9: Own illustration: Comparison of Maslow and Alderfer  34

  Figure 10: Classification of needs (Rosenstiel 1992 p 371)  37

  Figure 11: Theories of motivation (Luthans 1989 p 239 slightly changed)  39

  Figure 12: Relationship between Maslow and Herzberg (Hodgetts and Luthans  

1997,  p 340)  40

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1. Introduction

“We always do what we MOST WANT to do, whether or not we like what we are doing at each instant of our lives. Wanting and liking many times are not the same thing. Many people have done what they say they didn’t want to do at a particular moment. And that may be true until one looks deeper into the motivation behind the doing. What they are really saying is the price they will have to pay or the consequences they will have to endure, for not doing that something may be too high or onerous for them not to do it. Such as going to work. Many people say they don’t want to go to work and yet they do. Which means they don’t want to risk losing their jobs and the negative hurting emotions associated with not having a job. It has been estimated about 90% to 95% of all people work at jobs which are unfulfilling and which they dislike and would leave in a minute if they only knew what they really wanted to do.” Sidney Madwed

(http://www.quotationspage.com/search.php3?homesearch=motivation accessed on 15.02.2006)

The quotation defines that nowadays motivation should be an indispensable part of every company. It is a complex and difficult topic and therefore management also has to take historical theories into account. Furthermore, it has to be figured out what employees designate as attractive for defining an effective motivation programme within the organisation.

This dissertation will critically evaluate what motivation is and illustrate the different kinds of motivation theories of Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and Clayton P. Alderfer by explaining the key concepts for managing and

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motivating people. Due to the fact that motivation, especially employee

motivation, is such a broad topic the dissertation will put a specific focus on

the similarities and differences between the classical motivation theories.

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2. Methodology

This dissertation was first of all intended to evaluate the similarities and differences between classical motivation theories.

It was the researcher’s intention to concentrate particularly on the work of Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and Clayton P. Alderfer as the motivation theories which have been established by them are the most famous ones.

Secondary Data Collection

Research was initiated by reading books, journals as well as newspaper articles in order to obtain a theoretical framework for the research topic. Furthermore, relevant books and electronic resources, for example Internet articles and journals were used to gather information and to broaden the range of secondary research.

Primary Data Collection

A primary research of this topic would not have been possible due to the required time to elaborate and carry out a meaningful survey. Furthermore, primary data research such as questionnaires or interviews would not have been sufficiently representative for the intended purpose.

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3. What is motivation?

Motivation is a psychological process and it can be explained as the willingness of individuals to do something for satisfying a need. A need is a psychological or physiological deficiency, which makes the attainment of specific outcomes attractive. Unsatisfied needs lead to drives which generate a search for particular goals. If these goals are attained the need will be satisfied. (Robbins and Coulter, 2002) In everyday life, people ask themselves the question why they do some things or why not. In response, individuals try to find a motive which justifies the behaviour. Motives form the basis of needs. Therefore, it can be said that people seek for solutions in order to solve deficiency which means that motives are activated. These incentives may derive from us or they can come from other persons. Motivation is divided in two different types. The first one is called intrinsic motivation which means that people engage in an activity for its own sake, for example pursuit of responsible activities or personal development potentialities. Extrinsic motivation is used by a third party, for example supervisors or managers to motivate employees with either tangible rewards (payments, promotions, punishments) or intangible rewards (praise, public commendation). (Steers, Porter and Bigley, 1996)

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Figure 1: The basic motivation process (Hodgetts and Luthans, 1997, p. 332)

There are a lot more definitions of motivation but all have in common that motivation is a psychological process influencing internal motives which direct behaviour of a person and force him to activity with the intention to reach some objectives. Most psychologists believe that motivation is ultimately derived from a tension that results when one or more of people‘s important needs are unsatisfied. Therefore, a person who is hungry is motivated to find food or a person who needs security is motivated to find it. Another important point called behaviourism has to be taken into consideration concerning motivation. Behaviourism has its roots in 1953 when B. F. Skinner explored that people learn through their experiences and that these affect who and what they become. (Weightman,1999) Furthermore, he stated that people will most likely engage in desired behaviours if they are positively reinforced for doing so and rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the desired response. Skinner was also mainly responsible for the development of the philosophy of neo behaviourism and for the further progression of

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applied behaviour analysis, a branch of psychology which aims to develop a unified framework for animal and human behaviour based on principles of learning. The psychologist did not support the use of punishment because in his opinion it is an ineffective way of controlling behaviour and that a behaviour that is not rewarded or is punished is less likely to be repeated. (Skinner, 1974) It is said that the exploration of the emotional and motivational life of the mind is one of the greatest achievements in history of human thought. Furthermore, psychological motivation defines that individuals tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain which means that people want to maximise positive results and minimise the negative ones. Therefore, motivation energises, directs and sustains behaviour.

The expectancy theory of motivation which describes how individuals make decisions regarding behavioural alternatives has also become a commonly used theory. It defines that people have different set of goals and that they can be motivated if they believe that there is a positive connection between efforts and performance, that the performance will result in a good remuneration, that this remuneration will satisfy a special need and that the wish to satisfy this need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile. (Vroom, 1964) While other theories of motivation provide a theoretical framework for thinking and understanding what motivates people in the workplace and everyday life, the expectancy theory deals with practical solutions concerning diagnosing and solving individuals’ motivation problems.

Concerning the expectancy theory, motivation is a combination of valence, instrumentality and expectancy. Like mentioned above, motivating people by showing them worthwhile outcomes and then supporting them to reach these

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goals or desires helps people or employees to act in a way that provides pleasure and avoids pain. (Green, 1992)

In addition, humans are motivated by many things, for example psychological needs, emotions, hurts, impulses, fears, rewards such as money, friendship or status, wishes, intentions, values, self-satisfaction, interests, pleasure, dislikes, goals, ambitions and so on. An employee who is motivated works better than one without motivation. It is also known that people are ready to work harder if they see that their work is rewarded. Therefore, managers must know how to motivate their employees in order to complete tasks and achieve the goals of the company by applying motivation theories. There are many different approaches of motivation. The work of three well-known psychologists called Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and Clayton P. Altderfer is closely associated with human needs and motivation and helps to create better living and working conditions.