Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

Module 2.4 – MOTIVATION

INTRODUCTION

It is essential to increase overall efficiency of human beings to improve performance of an

organization. While machines, processes, technology of high order can be made available to the
individuals, but high productivity can only be achieved if workers are highly skilled and
adequately motivated. Motivation perhaps is a single most important factor of the study of
organizational behaviour that concerns each and every executive today.

The word motivation has been derived from ‘motive’ which means an idea, need or emotion that
prompts a person into action.

Motivation is defined as “a driving force which stimulates an individual to initiate and sustain a
behavior.”

This driving force is produced by a state of tension, which exists as the result of an unfulfilled
need. Individuals strive, both consciously and subconsciously to reduce this tension. For
example: A student studies books because he wants to get high marks in his exam. An employee
strives to perform better in a job as he wants to earn good money for his livelihood and his
family’s livelihood.

MOTIVES VS MOTIVATION

Motive is the inner urge that powers, activates and directs the behaviour of individual towards a
specified goal. “Motive is a factor which influences to do anything because anything we do has a
motive behind”.

• Motive is the specific reason for performing a specific action.

• Motivation is more what drives you, at a deeper level, to 'want' to do certain actions, or more
commonly a longer lasting project or job.

• Motive means a reason for doing something, and motivation means a reason or reasons for
acting or behaving in a particular way. Here doing something focuses on one specific act,
whereas acting or behaving in a particular way focuses on a more general pattern of action or
behavior.

DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION
• Scot defined motivation as “a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired
goals”.

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

NATURE/CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATION

 Psychological phenomenon: The process of motivation depends on the needs, desires,

etc which are psychological phenomenon. The Psychology of every individual is
different, hence the needs, desires, expectations are also different.
 Dynamic and situational: The motives, behavior and goals, are dynamic. The drives
differ every day.
 Not an observed phenomenon: Motivation is not directly observed, rather we apprehend
something based on the behavior of an individual underlying his motives.
 Goal oriented process: The motives of a person helps one to achieve a goal.
 Continuous process: Human wants are unlimited, so the motives are unlimited and once
the individual satisfies a single motive/want, he gets encouraged to satisfy another
motive/need/want of a higher order.

TYPES OF MOTIVATION

Intrinsic motivation:
 A type of motivation in which motives/needs originate from inside the human body.
 It refers to the internal driving state (physiological/biological needs, psychological
needs, inner fears, curiosity) stimulating an individual to behave in a specific way.
 It includes all biological drives such as hunger, thirst, sleep, relief from pain, need for
oxygen, etc.
 For example: Hunger becomes the driving force which compels an individual to have
food. Similarly a day’s tiredness compels an individual to relax and have a peaceful
sleep.

Extrinsic Motivation:
 In this type of motivation, the motives originate from outside the human body.
 This refers to the external driving forces to the human body but they have a rewarding or
punishing impact for the individual.
 For example, Incentives, Bonuses, Allowances, Promotion and Demotion, Rewards and
Punishment, Merit and Distinction Certificates, appreciation Certificates and Prizes.

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

The motivation approaches can be broadly classified as content and process theories. Unlike the
content models these process theories are relatively complex and difficult to translate into actual

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

practice, and, therefore they have generally failed to meet the goals of prediction and control of
organization behavior.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTENT AND PROCESS THEORIES

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

The content theories are concerned with identifying the needs that people have and how
needs are prioritized. These theorists discuss about what motivates people to perform; The
content theories are:
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
 Herzberg’s Two Factor Model theory

The process theories provide a much sounder theoretical explanation of work motivations.
These theorists discuss how rewards control behavior; e.g. expectancy, equity,
reinforcement, social learning theories. Those theories are:
 Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
 Porter-Lawler’s model

Contemporary Theory: These are referred to as contemporary theories because these theories
are able to more appropriately explain the phenomenon of the motivation in the contemporary
organizations. Such a theory is:
 Adam’s Equity Theory

CONTENT THEORY: ABRAHAM MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY

Abraham Maslow was a clinical psychologist in USA. His motivation theory is widely accepted
and studied. Maslow suggested that every individual has complex set of needs at any
particular moment and his behaviour is determined by the existence of strongest need.
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. Specifically, Maslow
theorised that people have five types of needs and that these are activated in a hierarchical
manner. This means that these needs are aroused in a specific order from lowest to highest, such
that the lowest-order need must be fulfilled before the next order need is triggered and the
process continues.

Assumptions of the Theory:

a) Unsatisfied needs motivate or influence behavior.
b) Satisfied needs do not motivate behavior.
c) Needs are arranged in a hierarchy.
d) Needs at any level of the hierarchy emerge as a significant motivator only when the lower
level needs are reasonably well satisfied.

1. Physiological/Basic Needs: The fulfillment of physiological needs takes precedence over all
other needs. These needs dominate when they are unsatisfied and no other needs serve as a base
for motivation. Unlike other needs, the physiological needs are finite but are recurrent.

2. Safety and Security Needs: The next higher level of need which assumes importance after
the fulfillment of Physiological needs. The safety needs look towards the future. How can an

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

individual satisfy his physiological needs when he becomes old? He must have reasonable
‘safety’ in his old age too. The pension plans, the payment of gratuity Act, the provident funds
Act etc. and other benefits after retirement, are basically to ensure security for the man in his old
age.

3.Social and belongingness needs: Since man is a social being, he has a need to belong and to
be accepted by various groups. When social needs become dominant, a person will strive for
meaningful relations with others. In the organization, these needs are reflected by the need to
participate in a work group and to have positive relationships with co-workers and Supervisors.

4. Self Esteem Needs: also known as Ego-satisfaction needs or self-worth needs. These needs
are manifested in three forms: the need for status, the need for power and the need for
recognition. Ex: Promotion. Satisfaction of these needs leads to a feeling of self-confidence and
prestige.

5. Self Actualization Needs: In the words of Maslow, these needs denote “what a man can be
should be”– to become everything one is capable of becoming. It means individual should realize

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

his or her potentialities, talents and capabilities. These are manifested as self-fulfilment and
competency needs.

Organisational/ Managerial Applications of the theory:

 The rationale behind the theory lies on the fact that it’s able to suggest to managers how
they can make their employees or subordinates become self-actualized. This is because
self-actualized employees are likely to work at their maximum creative potentials.

 Therefore it is important to make employees meet this stage by helping meet their need
organizations can take the following strategies to attain this stage.
 Recognize employee’s accomplishments

 Provide financial security

 Provide opportunities to socialise

 Promote a healthy work force

Criticisms of the Theory:

 According to some researchers, the needs fall into only 2 or 3 distinct categories and
not five.
 Some also say that the order/hierarchy of the needs may not always be the same.
 Maslow’s theory cannot be universally applied in all countries, firms or different
positions. Give example.
 Maslow’s observation that “a need that has been relatively well satisfied ceases to
motivate may not be true in the case of self esteem and self actualization needs.
 Needs are not only the determinant of behavior, there are other motivating factors like
perception, experiences,etc.
 Maslow’s theory is static and needs to be changed over time. For ex: The needs of a
graduate student would differ from the needs of a 60 year old man.

CONTENT THEORY: HERZBERG’S TWO FACTOR THEORY OF MOTIVATION

Fredrick Herzberg’s (1959) theory believes that an individual’s relation to work is basic and
that one’s attitude towards work can very well determine success or failure. He extended the
work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory of work motivation. In 1950’s he
conducted a study noting responses of 200 Accountants and Engineers employed by the firms in
and around Pittsburgh. The respondents were asked to narrate one critical incident from their

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

work life about which they felt especially unhappy and another incident from work-life about
which they felt especially happy.

On analyzing the data thus collected Herzberg came to conclusion that there are two sets of
factors at the work life; one set he called “hygiene factors” while the other was called the
“motivators”.

Hygiene Factors: also called as Dissatisfiers. These are conditions of a job which operates
primarily to cause dissatisfaction to the employee when they (conditions) are not present. But the
presence of these factors does not build strong motivation. Such factors are called Maintenance
factors since they are necessary to maintain a reasonable level of job satisfaction. According to
him, an organization that meets only the hygiene needs of its employees will eliminate
dissatisfaction but will not get superior performance.

Motivators: Motivators: also called as Satisfiers. These are job conditions or factors which
build high levels of satisfaction or motivation. However, if these conditions are not present, they
do not prove to be highly dissatisfying. Motivators are concerned mainly with the job content
and tend to be internal to the job. According, to Herzberg, opposite of satisfaction is not
dissatisfaction as traditionally believed. His view is opposite of “satisfaction” is “no satisfaction”
and opposite of “dissatisfaction” is “no dissatisfaction”.

CRITICISMS OF HERZBERG'S TWO FACTORY THEORY

 The analysis of critical incident type response is highly subjective.

 This theory is most applicable to professionals such as engineers, managers, accountants,
etc and not relevant to blue-collar workers.
 Herzberg’s study focused on the level of satisfaction, not performance, and satisfaction
and performance are not synonymous.

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

COMPARISON OF HERZBERG’S THEORY WITH MASLOW’S THEORY

 Both the theories belong to the Content Theories of Motivation.

 These theories use individual needs to understand job satisfaction and work behavior.
 Herzberg’s motivators satisfy the higher order needs of Maslow: Self Esteem and Self
Actualization. The Hygiene factors are the equivalent to the lower order needs like:
physiological, security and social needs of Maslow

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

CONTRAST BETWEEN HERZBERG’S THEORY AND MASLOW’S THEORY

1. Maslow’s theory is a Macro theory and deals with all aspects of motivation. Whereas
Herzberg’s theory has a Micro view and deals primarily with work-related motivation.
2. Maslow’s theory is applicable to all kinds of workers. Whereas Herzberg’s theory is more
relevant to white collar and professional workers.
3. According to Maslow, unsatisfied needs energizes behavior and this behavior causes
performance. Whereas, Herzberg’s theory suggests that needs cause performance.
4. Maslow’s theory believes in hierarchy of needs, but there is no such hierarchy of needs in
Herzberg’s theory.
5. Maslow’s theory suggests that Pay is a motivator if it satisfies needs. But according to
Herzberg, pay is not a motivator in any case.

CONTENT THEORY: ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY OF NEEDS

Clayton Alderfer revised Maslow's theory in 1972. He reduced the levels in the hierarchy from
five to three and termed these as below:
 Existence needs: are the desires for material and physical well-being. These needs
are satisfied with food, water, air, shelter, working conditions, pay, and fringe
benefits.

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

 Relatedness needs: are the desires to establish and maintain interpersonal

relationships. These needs are satisfied with relationships with family, friends,
supervisors, subordinates, and co-workers.
 Growth needs: are the desires to be creative, to make useful and productive
contributions, and to have opportunities for personal development.

COMPARISON BETWEEN MASLOW’S THEORY AND ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY

1. Studies had shown that the middle levels of Maslow's hierarchy had some overlap;
Alderfer addressed this issue by reducing the number of levels to three.

2. The ERG needs can be mapped to those of Maslow's theory as follows:

Existence: Physiological and safety needs
Relatedness: Social and external esteem needs
Growth: Self-actualization and internal esteem

3. Like Maslow's model, the ERG theory is also hierarchical - existence needs have priority
over relatedness needs, which have priority over growth.

CONTRAST BETWEEN MASLOW’S THEORY AND ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY

 Unlike Maslow's hierarchy, the ERG theory allows for different levels of needs to be
pursued simultaneously.

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

 The ERG theory allows the order of the needs be different for different people.
 The ERG theory acknowledges that if a higher-level need remains unfulfilled, the
person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. This is known as
the frustration-regression principle.

PROCESS THEORY: VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY

The Expectancy Theory of motivation as developed by Victor Vroom is a cognitive process

theory of motivation that is based on the idea that people believe there are relationships between
the effort they put forth at work, the performance they achieve from that effort, and the rewards
they receive from their effort and performance. In other words, people will be motivated if they
believe that strong effort will lead to good performance and good performance will lead to
desired rewards.

Vroom’s expectancy theory differs from the content theories of Maslow, Alderfer, Herzberg, and
McClelland in that Vroom’s expectancy theory does not provide specific suggestions on what
motivates organization members. Instead, Vroom’s theory provides a process of cognitive
variables that reflects individual differences in work motivation.

Assumptions of Expectancy Theory:

• People join organizations with expectations about their needs, motivations, and past
experiences;

• An individual’s behaviour is a result of conscious choice;

• People want different things from the organization and

• People will choose among alternatives so as to optimize outcomes for them personally.

This model is generally known as expectancy theory but is sometimes referred to as VIE theory,
where the letters stand for valence, instrumentality, and expectancy, respectively. Vroom
believes, a person is motivated to the degree that he or she believes that:

(a) his/her effort will lead to an acceptable performance (expectancy),

(b) that performance will be rewarded (instrumentality), and

(c) the value of the rewards is highly positive (valence).

Therefore, his theory is often expressed as a formula:

Valence x Expectancy x Instrumentality = Motivation
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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

 Where, Valence (Reward) = the amount of desire for a goal (What is the reward?)
 Expectancy (Performance) = the strength of belief that work-related effort will result in
the completion of the task (How hard will I have to work to reach the goal?)
 Instrumentality (Belief) = the belief that the reward will be received once the task is
completed (Will they notice the effort I put forth?)

Expectancy: Relationship between Efforts and Performance is known as Expectancy (E).

Expectancy is a person’s estimate of the probability that job-related effort will result in a given
level of performance. Expectancy is based on probabilities and ranges from 0 to 1. If an
employee sees no chance that effort will lead to the desired performance level, the expectancy is
0. On the other hand, if the employee is completely certain that the task will be completed, the
expectancy has a value of 1.

Instrumentality: Relationship between Performance and Rewards/Work Outcomes is called as

Instrumentality (I). Instrumentality is an individual’s estimate of the probability that a given level
of achieved task performance will lead to various work outcomes. As with expectancy,
instrumentality ranges from 0 to 1. For example, if an employee sees that a good performance
rating will always result in a salary increase, the instrumentality has a value of 1. If there is no
perceived relationship between a good performance rating and a salary increase, then the
instrumentality is 0.

Valence: Relationship between Rewards/Work Outcomes and Personal goals is known as

Valence (V). The valence measures the attractiveness, preference, value or the liking of the
rewards or work outcomes for the employee. If an employee has a strong preference for attaining

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

a reward, valence is positive. At the other extreme, valence is negative. And if an employee is
indifferent to a reward, valence is the total range is from -1 to +1.

Therefore, the expectancy theory says that:

Effort or motivation = E x I x V

Combinations of valence, expectancy and instrumentality and the resultant motivations

from these combinations:

Criticisms of the Theory:

 The expectancy theory seems to be idealistic because quite a few individuals perceive
high degree correlation between performance and rewards.
 The application of this theory is limited as reward is not directly correlated with
performance in many organizations. It is related to other parameters also such as position,
effort, responsibility, education, etc.

PROCESS THEORY: PORTER LAWLER MODEL OF MOTIVATION

Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler came up with a comprehensive theory of motivation,
combining the various aspects that we have so far been discussing and using two additional
variables in their model. Vroom had suggested what leads to effort. The Porter Lawler model
however, goes a step ahead and postulates that effort does not necessarily lead to performance
and satisfaction. While efforts are determined by the value of reward and the perceived reward
probability, performance i.e. accomplishment is influenced by an individual’s abilities and role
perceptions. In the ultimate analysis an employee derives satisfaction which is an amalgam of
effort leading to performance interacting with rewards.

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 Biju Patnaik Institute of IT & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

Though built in large part on Vroom’s expectancy model. Porter and Lawler’s model is a more
complete model of motivation. This model has been practically applied also in their study of
managers.
It is a multi variate model which explains the relationship that exists between job attitudes and
job performance.

Assumptions of the theory:

(i) As mentioned already, it is a multi variate model. According to this model, individual
behaviour is determined by a combination of factors in the individual and in the environment.
(ii) Individuals are assumed to be rational human beings who make conscious decisions about
their behaviour in the organisations.
(iii) Individuals have different needs, desires and goals.
(iv) On the basis of their expectations, individuals decide between alternate behaviours and
such decided behaviour will lead to a desired outcome.

MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE MODEL:

1. Effort: Effort refers to the amount of energy which a person exerts on a job.

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

2. Value of Reward: First of all people try to figure out whether the rewards that are likely to be
received from doing a job will be attractive to them. This is referred to as valence in Vroom’s
theory. A person who is looking for more money, for example, extra vacation time may not be an
attractive reward. If the reward to be obtained is attractive or valent then the individual will put
extra efforts to perform the job. otherwise he will lower his effort.

3. Perceived Effort Reward Probability: In addition, before people put forth any effort, they
will also try to assess the probability of a certain level of effort leading to a desired level of
performance and the possibility of that performance leading to certain kinds of rewards. Based
on the valence of the reward and the effort reward probability, people can decide to put in certain
level of work effort.

4. Performance: Effort leads to performance. The expected level of performance will depend
upon the amount of effort, the abilities and traits of the individual and his role perceptions.
Abilities include knowledge, skills and intellectual capacity to perform the job. Traits which are
important for many jobs are endurance, perseverance, and goal directedness. Thus, abilities and
traits will moderate the effort- performance relationship.

In addition, people performing the jobs should have accurate role perception which refers to the
wav in which people define for the jobs. People may perceive their roles differently. Only those,
who perceive their roles as is defined by the organization, will be able to perform well when they
put forth the requisite effort.

5. Rewards: Performance leads to certain outcomes in the shape of two types of rewards namely
extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards are the external rewards given by
others in the organization in the form of money, recognition or praise. Intrinsic rewards are
internal feelings of job self-esteem and sense of competence that individuals feel when they do a
good job.

6. Satisfaction: Satisfaction will result from both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. However, for
being satisfied, an individual will compare his actual rewards with the perceived rewards if
actual rewards meet or exceed perceived equitable rewards, the individual will feel satisfied and
if these are less than the equitable rewards, the individual will feel dissatisfied.

To summarize actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. But it is
also affected by the person’s ability to do the job and also by individual’s perception of what the
required task is. So performance is the responsible factor that leads to intrinsic as well as
extrinsic rewards. These rewards, along with the equity of individual leads to satisfaction. Hence,
satisfaction of the individual depends upon the fairness of the reward.

PROCESS/ CONTEMPORARY THEORY: ADAM’S EQUITY THEORY

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

One of the contemporary theories of motivation is Adam’s Equity Theory developed by J.

Stacy Adams. The core of the equity theory is the principle of balance or equity. As per this
motivation theory, an individual’s motivation level is correlated to his perception of equity,
fairness and justice practiced by the management. Higher is individual’s perception of fairness,
greater is the motivation level and vice versa.

While evaluating fairness, employee compares the job input (in terms of contribution) to
outcome (in terms of compensation) and also compares the same with that of another peer of
equal cadre/category. O/I ratio (output-input ratio) is used to make such a comparison.
Equity is perceived when this ratio is equal. While if this ratio is unequal, it leads to “equity
tension”. Adams called this a negative tension state which motivates him to do something right
to relieve this tension.

Assumptions of the Equity Theory:

 The theory demonstrates that the individuals are concerned both with their own rewards
and also with what others get in their comparison.
 Employees expect a fair and equitable return for their contribution to their jobs.
 Employees decide what their equitable return should be after comparing their inputs and
outcomes with those of their colleagues.

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Dr. Pallabi Mund, Assistant Professor (HR & OB)

 Employees who perceive themselves as being in an inequitable scenario will attempt to

reduce the inequity either by distorting inputs and/or outcomes psychologically, by
directly altering inputs and/or outputs, or by quitting the organization.

An employee might compare himself with his peer within the present job in the current
organization or with his friend/peer working in some other organization or with the past jobs
held by him with others. An employee’s choice of the referent will be influenced by the appeal of
the referent and the employee’s knowledge about the referent.

The four comparisons an employee can make have been termed as “referents” according to
Goodman. The referent chosen is a significant variable in equity theory. These referents are as
follows:
1. Self-inside: An employee’s experience in a different position inside his present
organization.
2. Self-outside: An employee’s experience in a situation outside the present organization.
3. Other-inside: Another employee or group of employees inside the employee’s present
organization.
4. Other-outside: Another employee or employees outside the employee’s present
organization.

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make one of six choices:
• Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid or more if overpaid).
• Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can increase their pay by
producing a higher quantity of units of lower quality).
• Distort perceptions of self (“I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I
realize I work a lot harder than everyone else.”).
• Distort perceptions of others (“Mike’s job isn’t as desirable as I thought.”).
• Choose a different referent (“I may not make as much as my brother-in-law, but I’m
doing a lot better than my Dad did when he was my age.”).
• Leave the field (quit the job)

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