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Block 4 Unit 3 Motivation in Organisations

1. Discuss general motives and secondary motives like power etc.

• General motives are not directly linked to specific physiological needs but are still considered basic and common across people. These may include the need for competence, curiosity, affection, or social approval.
• Secondary motives, on the other hand, are learned and vary greatly in their presence and strength across individuals. They are social motives that can include the need for power, achievement, and affiliation. The need for power, for instance, is the desire to have an impact on others, to control people and resources. People with a high need for power are often motivated by opportunities for leadership, status, and recognition.

2. What are the two major theories of motivation?

The two major categories of theories of motivation are content theories and process theories.

• Content theories focus on what motivates people by identifying their needs and goals. Examples of content theories are Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, and McClelland's learned needs theory.
• Process theories focus on how motivation occurs and they attempt to explain the cognitive processes that influence behaviour. Examples of process theories include expectancy theory, equity theory, and goal-setting theory.

3. Discuss the Needs Hierarchy theory of Maslow and its 5 levels.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory proposes that humans are motivated by multiple needs, which exist in a hierarchical order, where lower-level needs must be met before higher-level needs become motivating. The five levels are:

1. Physiological needs: Basic survival needs like food, water, and shelter.
2. Safety needs: The desire for security, stability, and protection from harm.
3. Social needs: The need for belonging, love, acceptance, and friendship.
4. Esteem needs: The desire for a positive self-image, recognition, and respect.
5. Self-actualisation needs: The need for self-fulfillment, personal growth, and reaching one's full potential.

4. What are the four Meta needs? Describe

Self-actualisation is a high-level need that encompasses the desire to fulfil one's full potential and become a better person.

5. Discuss the two-factor theory of Herzberg.

Herzberg's two-factor theory proposes that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on opposite ends of the same spectrum but are influenced by separate sets of factors.

• Hygiene factors are related to the work environment, such as salary, job security, working conditions, and company policies. These factors can cause dissatisfaction if absent or inadequate, but their presence does not necessarily lead to satisfaction.
• Motivators are related to the content of the job, such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, and opportunities for growth and advancement. These factors are capable of generating job satisfaction and motivation.

6. Discuss the application of Herzberg theory to motivating employees in an organisation.

Herzberg's theory suggests that to motivate employees, managers should focus on providing opportunities for motivators, such as opportunities for achievement, recognition, responsibility, and growth. Simply improving hygiene factors will only prevent dissatisfaction but will not lead to active motivation. For example, managers could redesign jobs to be more challenging, provide feedback on performance, and create opportunities for promotion.

7. What is ERG theory? How is it applied to motivating employees in an organisation?

• ERG theory is a modification of Maslow's hierarchy of needs by Clayton Alderfer. Instead of five levels, he proposed three levels: Existence, Relatedness and Growth.
  • Existence needs include basic material requirements like physiological and safety needs.
  • Relatedness needs include social interactions, relationships and belongingness.
  • Growth needs include self-esteem and self-actualization and represent the need for personal development.
• ERG theory is more flexible than Maslow's hierarchy by suggesting that multiple needs can operate simultaneously and that a person can regress to a lower need if a higher need is not being met. To apply it, managers should recognise that employees may need attention to all three needs at the same time and also need different motivators based on the employee's individual requirements.

8. Elucidate McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y.

• McGregor's Theory X assumes that people inherently dislike work and will avoid it if possible. It assumes that employees are lazy, lack ambition, avoid responsibility, are selfish, and are not bright. Managers using Theory X tend to be autocratic and rely on control and punishment to motivate workers.
• McGregor's Theory Y assumes that people can find work as natural as play and rest, and that they can be self-directed and creative. Theory Y managers believe that people are capable of taking responsibility, and they use a more participative and empowering style.

9. How is Theory X used in organisations?

Theory X is used in organisations where managers believe that employees are lazy and need to be closely controlled. Managers may use strict rules, close supervision, and punishment to ensure that employees perform their duties. This can lead to an environment where employees are not engaged, are afraid of making mistakes, and are not motivated beyond what is absolutely required.

10. Discuss critically the application of Theory X and theory Y in motivating employees in an organisation.

• The application of Theory X may be effective in situations where tasks are simple and repetitive and where employees are not seeking a sense of accomplishment from their work. However, this approach can lead to low job satisfaction, lack of creativity, and high turnover.
• The application of Theory Y can create a work environment that promotes employee motivation, creativity, and commitment. It works well in settings where employees seek responsibility and are capable of self-direction. However, Theory Y may not be effective for all employees or in all situations, as some individuals may still require guidance and direction.

11. What are process theories? Explain

Process theories focus on the cognitive processes involved in motivation. They attempt to explain how behaviour is initiated, directed, and sustained, by focusing on the psychological and behavioural processes that influence motivation. These theories concentrate on how individuals think about their goals and the actions they need to take to achieve them. Process theories are concerned not only with factors that arouse behaviour but also the process, direction or choice of behavioural patterns.

12. Elucidate Expectancy theory of motivation. How is it used in organisations?

• Expectancy theory proposes that motivation is a product of three factors: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.
  • Expectancy refers to the belief that effort will lead to successful performance.
  • Instrumentality refers to the belief that successful performance will lead to desired outcomes or rewards.
  • Valence refers to the value or desirability of those rewards.
• According to expectancy theory, employees will be motivated when they believe that their effort will lead to good performance, good performance will lead to rewards, and that those rewards are valuable to them. To apply this in organizations, managers need to clarify performance expectations, provide fair and consistent rewards based on performance and offer rewards that are meaningful to their employees.

13. Explain Motivation = Valence x instrumentality x Expectancy.

This formula represents the core of expectancy theory. It suggests that motivation is a multiplicative function of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. This means that all three factors must be present for motivation to occur. If any of these three factors is zero, the overall level of motivation will also be zero. For example, if an employee does not believe that their effort will lead to good performance (expectancy is low), they will not be motivated, even if they highly value the reward. Likewise, if an employee has high expectations but does not believe that good performance will lead to a reward (instrumentality is low), or does not value the reward (valence is low), their motivation will be low.

14. Describe attribution theory and control theory of motivation.

Attribution theory focuses on how people interpret their own successes and failures. It explains that individuals are governed by their personal orientations which lead them to behave in certain ways. People will attribute the causes of their performance to either internal factors (e.g., ability, effort) or external factors (e.g., luck, task difficulty). These attributions then affect their future motivation and behaviour. For instance, an individual who attributes a failure to a lack of effort might be motivated to try harder in the future, whereas someone who attributes a failure to bad luck might not change their behaviour.

Control theory posits that people compare their current state with a desired state, and motivation results from attempts to reduce the discrepancy between the two. When an individual recognizes a difference between their actual state and desired goals, they will feel motivated to bridge that gap. The theory explains how people are driven to achieve goals and modify their behaviour based on feedback.

15. Define motivation and describe it.

Motivation is a psychological process that governs the arousal, direction, intensity, and persistence of actions that are voluntary and goal-directed. It is an inner driving force that influences an individual's willingness to work toward organisational goals. Motivation involves the activation of behaviour, the direction of behaviour towards specific goals, the persistence of effort over time, and the intensity of effort applied to those goals.

16. Explain the role that money can play as motivation in all the content theories.

• In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, money can fulfil basic physiological and safety needs. Once these needs are met, money may not serve as a primary motivator.
• In Herzberg’s two-factor theory, money is considered a hygiene factor. Adequate pay can prevent dissatisfaction but it will not cause motivation.
• In McClelland's theory, money may serve as a means for achieving recognition (power motive), a measure of accomplishment (achievement motive), or a way of facilitating social interactions (affiliation motive).
• In ERG theory, money helps with existence needs and can play a role in relatedness and growth.

17. What are the various types of motives? Describe each motive in detail.

• Primary motives: These are unlearned, physiological needs that are important for the survival of the human race, such as hunger, thirst, sleep, and avoidance of pain. They are universal but vary in intensity.
• Secondary motives: These are learned social motives that vary greatly in their presence and strength across individuals, such as the need for power, achievement, and affiliation.
• General motives: These are basic motives not linked to specific physiological needs but are common across individuals. They include competence, curiosity, affection, or social approval.
• Extrinsic motivation: This involves doing an activity for separable consequences, such as tangible or verbal rewards. The satisfaction comes from the consequences to which the activity leads rather than the activity itself.
• Intrinsic motivation: This involves doing an activity for its own sake because it is found interesting and enjoyable. The satisfaction comes from the activity itself.

18. What are the two major categories of theories of motivation?

• The two major categories of theories of motivation are content theories and process theories.
  • Content theories focus on what motivates people by identifying their needs and goals.
  • Process theories focus on how motivation occurs and they attempt to explain the cognitive processes that influence behaviour.

19. Describe McGregor's theory of X and Theory of Y and explain their application in organisations.

• Theory X assumes that people inherently dislike work and will avoid it if possible, and that they are lazy and need to be closely controlled. This theory is applied in organisations through strict rules, close supervision, and punishment.
• Theory Y assumes that people can find work as natural as play and rest, and that they can be self-directed and creative. It is applied through participative management style and employee empowerment.

20. What are the basic components of expectancy theory and how are they combined to predict behaviour.

• The three basic components of expectancy theory are:
  • Expectancy: The belief that effort will lead to successful performance.
  • Instrumentality: The belief that successful performance will lead to desired outcomes or rewards.
  • Valence: The value or desirability of those rewards.
• These are combined multiplicatively: Motivation = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence. This formula suggests that all three components must be present for motivation to occur, and if any component is zero, then there will be no motivation.

21. What are Maslow's five categories of needs? Compare Herzberg's theory to that of Maslow's?

• Maslow's five categories of needs are: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualisation.
• Comparison with Herzberg's theory:
  • Maslow's theory suggests that needs exist in a hierarchical order, while Herzberg's theory proposes two separate categories of factors - hygiene factors and motivators.
  • Herzberg’s hygiene factors are similar to Maslow’s lower level needs like physiological and safety and some aspects of social needs.
  • Herzberg’s motivators are similar to Maslow’s higher level needs like esteem and self-actualisation.
  • Both theories attempt to explain what motivates people, but Herzberg's theory focuses on the work environment while Maslow's theory focuses on the progression of human needs in general.

22. What are the characteristics of motivation.

Motivation is a complex phenomenon with several key characteristics. It is an internal psychological process unique to each individual. Motivation is purposive, meaning actions are directed towards goals rather than being random. It directs behaviour toward organisational objectives and sustains effort, even when obstacles arise. Furthermore, motivation enhances cognitive effort to improve the quality and quantity of work. It is important to note that motivation is distinct from performance. Other factors like ability and task difficulty also influence performance. Finally, motivation is multifaceted, with people often experiencing several conflicting motives simultaneously.

23. Discuss primary and secondary motivation .

Primary motives are unlearned physiological needs that are essential for survival, like hunger, thirst, sleep, sex, and avoiding pain. These are considered universal, though their intensity may vary among individuals and can be influenced by social practices. Secondary motives are learned through social interactions and are associated with personal values. They include the need for affiliation, recognition, status, power, achievement, autonomy, security, and defensiveness. These motives vary in type and intensity among people and are subject to change.

24. What are intrinsic and extrinsic motivations?

Intrinsic motivation arises from the enjoyment of the activity itself, like satisfaction from curiosity, self-expression, or personal challenge. Extrinsic motivation involves engaging in work to obtain tangible rewards separate from the work itself, like salary, benefits, and promotions.

25. Describe successful motivated behaviour.

Successful motivated behaviour involves the harmonisation of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. When both are aligned, inner conflict is reduced and there is more focus on the task. The presence of inner and external rewards reinforces behaviour.

26. Describe the characteristics of self-actualised persons.

Self-actualised people, according to Maslow, have certain characteristics:

• They have a good perception of reality and are comfortable with it.
• They accept themselves and their nature.
• They lack artificiality.
• They focus on problems outside themselves and are concerned with basic issues.

27. Describe the Hygiene and motivators in Herzberg theory.

Herzberg's two-factor theory identifies two sets of factors: hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors (or dissatisfiers) are related to the work environment and include working conditions, policies, salary, supervision, and status. These factors can prevent job dissatisfaction, but do not lead to motivation. Motivators (or satisfiers) are related to job content and include achievement, responsibility, recognition, advancement and growth. These factors promote job satisfaction and motivate high performance. According to Herzberg, hygiene factors must be met before motivators can be used to stimulate a person.

28. What is the application of theory Y in an organisation?

Theory Y is a management approach that views employees as naturally motivated and responsible. This theory assumes that people are committed to objectives when rewards are associated with their achievement. It also suggests that people learn to accept and seek responsibility and are creative and innovative if given the opportunity. Organisations that use Theory Y create a supportive work climate that enables employees to grow and improve.

29. Describe Porter Lawler model of motivation .

The Porter-Lawler model suggests that performance leads to satisfaction if the reward systems are effective. This model posits that people are motivated when they know what is expected of them and that rewards are linked to performance. According to this model, effective reward structures motivate employees to perform.

30. Elucidate Equity theory and indicate how it is applied in organisations.

 Equity theory suggests that a person's motivation depends on the perceived fairness of their work situation, relative to others. An employee's sense of satisfaction is based on the balance of their inputs (qualifications, experience, abilities) and outputs (salary, benefits). Inequity can result in reduced effort or employees seeking to restore equity, possibly by increasing their rewards or reducing their efforts. Employees may also change their perception of the situation, or leave. The perception of fair procedures is an important aspect of organisational justice which can promote employee commitment.