Physiological
Safety
Social
Esteem
Self-actualization
As each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. Maslow's hierarchy
of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental
levels of needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization at the top.
Assumptions
1. Individuals cannot move to the next higher level until all needs at the current level are
satisfied.
2. Individuals must move up the hierarchy in order.
Physiological needs
Physiological needs are the physical requirements for human survival. If these requirements
are not met, the human body cannot function properly and will ultimately fail. Physiological
needs are thought to be the most important; they should be met first. For example, air, water,
and food are metabolic requirements for survival in all animals, including humans. Clothing
and shelter provide necessary protection.
Safety needs
With physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take precedence and
dominate behavior. Safety needs include personal security, financial security, health and
well-being, safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts, etc.
Social
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third level of human needs is
interpersonal and involves feelings of belongingness. According to Maslow, humans need to
feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups, regardless if these groups
are large or small. For example, some large social groups may include clubs, co-workers,
religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, and gangs. Some examples of
small social connections include family members, intimate partners, mentors, colleagues, and
confidants.
Esteem
All humans have a need to feel respected; this includes the need to have self-esteem and selfrespect. Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People
often engage in a profession or hobby to gain recognition. These activities give the person a
sense of contribution or value.
Self-actualization
This level of need refers to what a person's full potential is and the realization of that
potential. Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to
become the most that one can be. Individuals may perceive or focus on this need very
specifically. For example, one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal
parent.
Lower-Order Needs needs that are satisfied externally; physiological and safety
needs.
Higher-Order Needs needs that are satisfied internally; social, esteem and selfactualization needs.
However, this theory cannot be applied in all situations, but applicable in most cases. For
example, even when a person is going through a financial crisis, he might want to maintain
his social status violating this theory.
Theory X and Theory Y are theories of human motivation created and developed by Douglas
McGregor in the 1960s.
Theory X
In this theory, management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if
they can and that they inherently dislike work. As a result of this, management believes that
workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed. A
hierarchical structure is needed with narrow span of control at each and every level.
According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive
program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can. According to Michael J. Papa, if
the organizational goals are to be met, Theory X managers rely heavily on threat and coercion
to gain their employees' compliance.
Theory Y
In this theory, management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and
exercise self-control. It is believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work
duties. According to them work is as natural as play. They possess the ability for creative
problem solving, but their talents are underused in most organizations. Given the proper
conditions, Theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept
responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to
which they are committed. A Theory Y manager believes that, given the right conditions,
most people will want to do well at work. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good
job is a strong motivation.
However, for McGregor, Theory X and Y are not different ends of the same continuum.
Rather they are two different continua in themselves.
The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor
theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while
a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. It was developed by psychologist Frederick
Herzberg, who theorized that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of
each other.
The presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives leads to worker satisfaction at
work, while another and separate set of job characteristics leads to dissatisfaction at work.
Thus, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on a continuum with one increasing as the other
diminishes, but are independent phenomena. This theory suggests that to improve job
attitudes and productivity, administrators must recognize and attend to both sets of
characteristics and not assume that an increase in satisfaction leads to decrease in
unpleasurable dissatisfaction.
Two-factor theory distinguishes between:
Motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) that give positive
satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition,
achievement, or personal growth.
Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary, fringe benefits, work conditions) that
do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their absence.
These are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects such as company policies,
supervisory practices, or wages/salary.
Essentially, hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied. Motivation
factors are needed to motivate an employee to higher performance.
Goal setting theory was developed and refined by Edwin A. Locke in the 1960s. Goal setting
involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted (SMART)
goals. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that an effective tool for making progress
is to ensure that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is
expected from them.
Goals that are deemed difficult to achieve and specific, with self-generated feedback, tend to
increase performance more than goals that are not. Setting goals affects outcomes in four
ways:
1. Choice: goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal-relevant activities, and away
from perceived undesirable and goal-irrelevant actions.
2. Effort: goals can lead to more effort; for example, if one typically produces 4 widgets
an hour, and has the goal of producing 6, one may work more intensely towards the
goal than one would otherwise.
3. Persistence: someone becomes more prone to work through setbacks if pursuing a
goal.
4. Cognition: goals can lead individuals to develop and change their behavior.
Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF Skinner and his associates. It states
that individuals behavior is a function of its consequences. It is based on law of effect, i.e.,
individuals behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but individuals
behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.
Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state of individual, i.e., the inner
feelings and drives of individuals are ignored by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what
happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external
environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate
the employee. This theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism for
individuals behavior. However, it does not focus on the causes of individuals behavior.
The managers use the following methods for controlling the behavior of the employees:
Positive Reinforcement- This implies giving a positive response when an individual
shows positive and required behavior. For example - praising an employee for coming
early for job will increase probability of outstanding behavior occurring again. Reward is
a positive reinforce, but not necessarily. If and only if the employees behavior improves,
reward can said to be a positive reinforcer. Positive reinforcement stimulates occurrence
of a behavior. It must be noted that more spontaneous is the giving of reward, the greater
reinforcement value it has.
Negative Reinforcement- This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative /
undesirable consequences. Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for
increasing desirable / required behavior.
Punishment- It implies removing positive consequences so as to lower the probability of
repeating undesirable behavior in future. In other words, punishment means applying
undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behavior. For instance - Suspending an
employee for breaking the organizational rules can be equalized by positive
reinforcement from alternative source.
Extinction- It implies absence of reinforcements. In other words, extinction implies
lowering the probability of undesired behavior by removing reward for that kind of
behavior. For instance - if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his
good work, he may feel that his behavior is generating no fruitful consequence.
Extinction may unintentionally lower desirable behavior.
Above all, managers who are making attempt to motivate the employees must ensure that
they do not reward all employees simultaneously. They must tell the employees what they are
not doing correct. They must tell the employees how they can achieve positive reinforcement.
Equity Theory
Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory proposes that an individual will decide to behave or act in a certain way
because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they
expect the result of that selected behavior will be. In essence, the motivation of the behavior
selection is determined by the desirability of the outcome.
Expectancy theory explains the behavioral process of why individuals choose one behavioral
option over another. It also explains how they make decisions to achieve the result they
desire. Vroom introduces three variables within his expectancy theory: valence (V),
expectancy (E), and instrumentality (I). These three elements also have clearly defined
relationships: effort-performance expectancy (E>P expectancy), performance-outcome
expectancy (P>O expectancy).
The three components of expectancy theory (Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence) fit
together in this fashion:
1. Expectancy: Effort Performance (EP)
2. Instrumentality: Performance Outcome (PO)
3. Valence - V(R)
Valence - V(R):
Valence is the value the individual places on the rewards (R) based on their needs, goals,
values, and sources of motivation. Factors associated with the individual's valence for
outcomes are values, needs, goals, preferences, sources of motivation, and the strength of an
individual's preference for a particular outcome.
Expectancy theory can help managers understand how individuals are motivated to make
decisions regarding various behavioral alternatives. In order to enhance the connection
between performance and outcomes, managers should use systems that tie rewards very
closely to performance. Managers also need to ensure that the rewards provided are deserved
and wanted by the recipients. In order to improve the connection between effort and
performance, managers should engage in training to improve employee capabilities and help
employees believe that added effort will in fact lead to better performance.