Motivation: Content Theories General Framework
Motivation plays a very significant role in the day tom day life of every individual or an employee working within the organization. It is an internal feeling which drives& stimulates a person in accomplishing the goals and objectives set by the organization. Let us understand the various theories of motivation along with their criticisms, and later on it will be discussed about the differences that tend to exist between the content theory and process theory of motivation, the emphasis has been given to behavioral science research. There are mainly 2 kinds of motivation - extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Whereas extrinsic motivation refers to the kind of motivation which comes from outside and affect the working efficiency of the workers as well that of the organization and includes reward, recognition, money, fame, and praise, bonus. Internal motivation refers to the kind of motivation which has been arised out of the internal factors such as - certificates, appreciation, promotion, getting a new job title.
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon that manifests within an individual or a person and assists in making an individual result and goal oriented. Motivation is an intrinsic feeling which encourages and motivates a person to behave in a particular way and helps in accomplishing the desired goals and objectives of the organization. The main aim of each and every organization is to make the employee feel completely satisfied so that they will not be tend to get dissatisfied and leave the organization. The problems and conflicts arising in the organization among the employees should be solved timely so that the proper and healthy environment is to be maintained within the organization.
Theories of motivation
Maslow's theory of motivation
It is one of the significant theory of motivation which comprises of 5 stages namely - psychological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs and self actualization needs (RM Badubi, 2017, 30(1)). Let us discuss all of these stages in detail.
Physiological needs
This kind of need comprise of the things which are essential for the survival. It includes - food, water, shelter, breathing and homeostasis. Sexual reproduction is also a one of the significant element as it is essential for survival and propagation of the species at this stage. It is the basic needs in the Maslow's need hierarchy theory and mainly constitute of fulfilling the basic desires like the food, shelter and clothing and many more.
Safety needs
It is the second stage in the Maslow's need hierarchy theory. It includes financial security, safety against accidents and injury and health & wellness. Most probably these needs are to be fulfilled by the family and the community. It is the second stage which comes after the fulfillment of the physiological needs (E Hopper, 2020, 35(1)). This stage mainly includes providing the safety and protection to the individuals and save them from any kind of danger in the external environment.
Love and belonging needs
At this stage the need for emotional relationships assists in driving the behavior of the individual. It includes - family, friendships, churches and religious organizations social & community groups and romantic attachments. If an individual wants to avoid the problems such as the loneliness, anxiety and depression then it is significant for the person to feel accepted and loved by various other people in the world.
Esteem needs
This stage is all about gaining the respect and appreciation from others. The fourth stage in Maslow need hierarchy theory is divided into 2 needs i.e. esteem for self (achievement, mastery, etc.) and desire for recognition & reputation (Prestige or status).
Self actualization needs
It is the last stage in which an individual makes full use of the talents, potentialities and capabilities. Every individual at this stage will be making the full of their capabilities it might include developing the skills of a person, winning awards and travelling from one place to another. It is the last stage of this theory when all the needs are fulfilled them comes the self actualization needs. It ensures that each individual in this world should make the proper use of their skills, talent and capability in a very effective way and should not waste its time.
Criticisms of Maslow's need hierarchy theory
This need does not follow a well structured hierarchy, it is very difficult to test. The individuals are mainly focusing on the self-actualization needs but are still deprived of the needs at a lower level. There still exists a lack of cause & effect relationship between behavior & the need. Individual tends to complain that the hierarchy of needs does not exist. The behavior of every individual or person differs from each other and they behave differently. It is not possible to measure the level of satisfaction derived from these needs.
Herzberg theory of motivation
This theory could also be called by other name that is two factor theory. This theory mainly suggests that there are 2 factors which contribute that in which the firm or an organization can adjust itself and motivate the employees working in the organization olr the workplace. 2 of these factors are - motivators and hygiene factors. Motivators could be used for encouraging the employees working in the organization to work more hard and thereby helps in enhancing the productivity of the organization (M Alshmemri, L Shahwan-Akl and P Maude, 2017, 10(3)). Hygiene factors could be defined as that they are not involved in motivating the employees but their absence will make the employees completely dissatisfied. There are many other components of the hygiene factors like - status, job security, interpersonal relations, policies and working conditions. Let us discuss these components in detail.
Status
It could be defined as the status of the employee should remain familiar & retained in the organization. It is also gets very much affected by the behavior of the employee in the organization.
Interpersonal relations
It is one of the significant components which is essential for each and every organization as the main aim of each organization is to ensure that the employees working in the organization or firm is having the cordial relations with the managers and the supervisor. The employee should be able to properly coordinate and cooperate with his peers, supervisors, and subordinates. There should be minimal chances of conflict within the organization.
Job security
Ensuring the safety and security of all the employees in the organization is significant as all, the employee will tend to work for longer duration only when they will feel safe and secure while working in that particular firm. The main objective of the organization is to provide security and safety to its employee along with good working conditions and a hygienic environment. There should be a sense of insecurity among the employee working in the organization.
Working conditions
Every employee working in the organization should be given a clean and hygienic environment. The tools and equipment should be well designed and maintained and in proper working conditions. Working conditions must be appropriate within the organization there should be no chances of conflicts among the employees in the organization and manager must ensure that he is providing the appropriate resources to the employee in the organization then only they will become happy and satisfied.
Policies
The policy of a company is designed in such a way that could be easily adapted by the individuals and not too rigid and must be flexible. Policies should be fair and clear. It must include flexible working hours, leaves, dress code, and vacations. All the employee within the organization must be involved at the time of making the decisions and give their opinion that are required to be changed and will assists in accomplishing the overall goals and objectives of the organization and due to which the effectiveness, efficiently and productivity of both the employee and the organization will tend to increase and it will help them in generating a huge amount of profits and will establish the goodwill in the market.
Criticisms of Herzberg theory of motivation
This theory was only limited to the accountants & engineers. As per the opinion of many reserchers this theory was not conclusive as the white collar workers and the professionals love to do challenging and responsibility jobs. But on the other hand general workers tend to be motivated by their pay, infringe benefits and promotions. This theory mainly comprises of the 2 factors that is the motivators and the hygiene factors which have been discusses above in detail.
McGregor's theory of motivation
This theory could also be termed as theory X and theory Y. let us understand the concept of theory X and theory Y in more detail.
Theory X
The individuals who fall into the category of theory X are tends to resist change, unintelligent & gullible, self centered, they face problem while solving the issues concerned with the organization, individuals are not ready to fulfill the responsibility and thus required that one should guide them and provide the appropriate direction (V Hattangadi, 2015, 37(2)). It refers to the set of traditional beliefs
Theory Y
Individuals are self directed and creative towards performing their work and fulfilling the objectives of the organization. They are ready to take the responsibility. Individuals have the ability to make the innovative decisions. It could be defined as the set of beliefs that is usually based on the researchers with respect to the behavioral science.
Hofstede's theory of motivation
This theory of motivation mainly comprise of six dimensions - power distance, masculinity, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, time orientation & indulgence. Let us discuss these dimensions more in detail.
Power distance
It means that the individuals tends to think that the power is distributed unequally in the society or the community and how they will be going to handle the problem of inequality that still exists. For example- Countries such as Saudi Arabia & China are having a high power index. It is the extent to which the less powerful members of the institution & organization within a country expect and accept the power which is being distributed unequally. It could also be defined as the relationship between the higher and low ranking individuals depending upon how the lower ranking individuals will react upon the higher ranking individuals.
Masculinity
It could be defined as the distribution of roles between both the men and women. Values play a very significant role in the society among the various people. The individuals residing in the society are to be given preference on the basis of the following factors such as - heroism, achievement and assertiveness (RM Favaretto, L Dihl, R Barreto and SR Musse, 2016, 20(2)). For example - Sweden is considered to be the feminine country and Japan tends to be considered as the masculine country where males are to be given the more preference as compared to the female.
Individualism
In this dimension it has to be expected that the individual is required to take care of himself of herself and his family also and also tend to focus on the goals of the individuals. Along with this there is one another term called as the collectivism which is quite opposite of the individualism, here the word collectivism could be defined as focusing on the goals of the groups.
Uncertainty avoidance
It could be defined as the condition till the ambiguity & uncertainty are tolerated. This will help in understanding the level to which the unknown situations & unexpected events are to be resolved. If the uncertainty avoidance is high then it will reflect that the power of tolerance is low and vice versa. It also expresses the degree to which the members of the society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty & ambiguity. The countries that tend to follow the uncertainty avoidance will be following the rules and regulations very strictly.
Time orientation
This dimension mainly consists of the 2 dimensions - high time orientations and low-time orientations. For example - the long time orientation mainly include 2 countries Japan & China whereas short time orientation mainly consists of Morocco. The long term orientation focuses on the societies that are mainly attached with the more importance in the future. In short term orientation the major focus is on the past and present situations. High term orientation focuses on the relationship ordered by the status, investing in the real estate and maintain cordial relations and position of the market plays a very significant role. Short term orientation focuses on the quick results, leisure time is important and status is not be termed as the major issue at the time of maintaining the relations.
Indulgence
This dimension explains the control of the expectation & the desires and wants of the individuals. Weak desire of individual is tend to be termed as the indulgence whereas if the desire of an individual is high then it is termed as a restraint. Indulgence could be defined as the condition where the persons are free to fulfill their desires and expectations but on the other hand restraint refers to the condition where individuals are not free to fulfill their own desires and will have to follow the rules and guidelines strictly and consistently.
Behavioral science research
Behavioral science research could be referred to as the study of understanding the various interaction and communication taking place among the different kinds of persons around the world. It could be termed as the study which enables the individuals in identifying the behavior of both the animals as well as the human beings by taking the help of the various researches and experiments that is being performed. Criticisms of the behavioral science approach is that it is one-dimensional and it does not allow the individuals or the persons to make use of the various internal factors that are still existing and could include - feelings, moods and thoughts of an individual (LT Orcher, 2016, 40(2)) . This approach does not allow to completely focus on the personality & attitude of the person as a result of this the productivity and efficiency of the employees and the organization will get affected. It does not establish a link between the procedures, analysis, and conclusions. Moreover, it is not possible to derive the appropriate conclusions from this approach. it is mainly concerned with dealing and understanding. The behavior of an individual differs in the attitude, behavior and the working style. No two individuals tend have the similar kind of behavior or personality so manager in the organization must understand the behavior of the individuals and deal with them accordingly. The employees could be motivated by several ways such as positive feedback should be given by the managers, ensures transparency, giving them working opportunities and hygienic environment, offering them rewards on time, focusing on motivating the individual instead of motivating the members of the groups or teams along with that provide them the proper working conditions. It is one of the significant factors without which it will not be possible for the individual to achieve or fulfill the goals.
Difference Between The Content Theory And A Process Theory Of Motivation
Content theory
This theory majorly focuses on explaining the reasons due to which the behavior of the individuals is changing frequently. It deals with the contents related to the jobs, ensures that the needs of the individuals are fulfilled and they are highly motivated. It tends to treat all the individuals fair and equal having no discrimination (Z Sahito and P Vaisanen, 2017, 13(2)). it also emphasizes that if the individuals do not get what they need then they follow these steps to fulfill their desires and wants - giving proper motivation to the individuals will boost their working efficiency, rewards and recognition can satisfy the needs of the individual and specific needs should be identified timely It consists of various other theories namely - Maslow's need hierarchy theory, Mc Clelland's theory of motivation and Herzberg theory of motivation. It helps in matching the rewards with the needs of the employee, offering employee the choice of rewards, people have the different needs at the different point of time and limit the use of financial rewards considered to be a source of motivation. In this theory manager must be aware about the differences in the needs, goals and desires because each and every individual is different from each other. It also emphasizes the needs that motivate the people.
Process theory
This theory mainly focuses on the psychological processes that will affect the motivation concerned with the goals, perceptions and expectations of the equity. This theory deals with the process of motivation, ensures that people are motivated by the expectations and tend to treat each and every individual in a different way (S Black, DG Gardner, JL Pierce and R Steers, 2019, 15(1)). It suggests that the choice of an individual is based on rewarding factors, a sense of accomplishment, and preferences. It consists of various other theories such as - Vroom's expectancy and goal setting theory. It also describes the processes through which the needs are translated into the behavior. Manager must understand the process of motivation and how the various individuals tend to make the choice that is based on the rewards, accomplishments and performance. A group of theories that explains how the employee will be going to select the behavior with which to meet their needs and determine whether their choices were successful.
Conclusion
At last it could be concluded that motivation is very essential for each and every employee to work effectively and efficiently and that will also going to increase the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the organization or the firm. Later on it has been discussed about the various theories of motivation, difference between the content theory and process theory and behavioral science research. There are mainly 2 kinds of motivation - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. So it is very significant to motivate the employee both intrinsically and extrinsically to improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the employee.