MOTIVATI

ON
THEORIES
Defining Motivation

Key Elements
2. Intensity: how hard a person tries
3. Direction: toward beneficial goal
4. Persistence: how long a person tries
THE MOTIVATION PROCESS
UNSATISFIED NEEDS

TENSION

DRIVES

SEARCH BEHAVIOUR

NEED SATISFIED

TENSION REDUCED
Theory X and Theory Y
(Douglas McGregor)
Need Hierarchy Theory (A. Maslow)
Higher-order
needs

Self-
actualization
needs

Esteem needs

Social needs

Safety needs

Physiological needs
Lower-order
needs
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
(Lower Order)

• PHYSIOLOGICAL: Includes hunger,

thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs.
• SAFETY: Includes security and protection
from physical and emotional harm.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
(Higher Order)
• SOCIAL: Includes affection, belongingness,
acceptance, and friendship.
• ESTEEM: Includes internal esteem factors
such as self respect, autonomy, and
achievement and external esteem factors
such as status, recognition, and attention.
• SELF-ACTUALIZATION: is represented by
the drive to become what one is capable of
becoming. This includes growth, achieving
one’s potential, and self-fulfillment
Two-Factor Theory (Frederick Herzberg)
Goal-Setting Theory (Edwin
Locke)
ERG Theory (Clayton
Alderfer)

Core Needs
Existence: provision of
basic material
requirements.
Relatedness: desire for
relationships.
Growth: desire for
personal development.
David McClelland’s Theory of Needs

nPow

nAch nAff
Matching Achievers and Jobs
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
Reinforcement Theory

Concepts:
Behavior is environmentally caused.
Behavior can be modified (reinforced) by
providing (controlling) consequences.
Reinforced behavior tends to be repeated.
Ken Thomas’s Model of Intrinsic Motivation
• Employees are intrinsically motivated when
rewards an employee gets from work result from:
• Choice– the ability to freely self-select and perform
task activities.
• Competence– the sense of accomplishment from
skillfully performing chosen tasks or activities.
• Meaningfulness– pursuing a task that matters in the
larger scheme of things.
• Progress– the feeling of significant advancement in
achieving the task’s purpose.
Equity Theory

Referent
Comparisons:
Self-inside
Self-outside
Other-inside
Other-outside
Equity Theory (cont’d)
 Equity Theory: A Summary and Example

INEQUITABLE RELATIONSHIP
Andy is Bill is
overpaid underpaid
compared to Bill compared to Andy
Bill’s outcomes
Andy’s outcomes ($25,000/year)
($30,000/year) Bill’s inputs
Andy’s inputs (40 hours/week)
(40 hour/week)

Andy feels guilty Bill feels angry

EQUITABLE RELATIONSHIP
Andy is equitably paid Bill is equitably paid
compared to Bill compared to Andy
Andy’s outcomes Bill’s outcomes
($30,000/year) ($30,000/year)
Andy’s inputs Andy feels Bill feels Bill’s inputs
(40 hour/week) satisfied satisfied (40 hours/week)
Equity Theory (cont’d)
Choices for dealing with inequity:
2. Change inputs (slack off)
3. Change outcomes (increase output)
4. Distort/change perceptions of self
5. Distort/change perceptions of
others
6. Choose a different referent person
7. Leave the field (quit the job)
Equity Theory (cont’d)
Expectancy Theory